^ 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  Califof 

Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALSWOR'^ 

Received  October,  i8g4. 
Accessions  No.  S^^^O-      Class  No, 


\  I (j  ^  /Yii^miH 


•^\ 


u.\. 


ESSAYS. 


JOHN  ABERCROMBIE,  M.D.,  F.R.S.E., 
ii 

AUTHOR    OF 

'  INQUIRIES    CONCERNING    THE    INTELLECTUAL    POWERS,"    *'  THE 

PHILOSOPHY    OF   THE   MORAL    FEELINGS," 

&C.,  &C. 


FROM    THE    19TH    EDINBURGH    EDITION. 


NEW-YORK: 

Harpeh   6l   Brothers,    Publisher  s, 

82  Cliff   Street. 

1845.  -     '^    •- 


:\ 


"^^Ca^^^^ 


'  ^%SA 


si^if>o 


4 


or  n 
ADVERTISEMENT. 


In  this  new  and  revised  edition  of  the  last  pro- 
duction of  Dr.  Abercrorabie,  are  now,  for  the  first 
time,  incorporated  some  of  the  best  of  the  author*s 
didactic  writings — ^the  most  matured  fruits  of  his 
well-stored  and  philosophic  mind.  No  mean  ev- 
idence of  the  high  popularity  in  which  the  vari- 
ous emanations  of  his  pen  are  held,  is  afforded 
by  the  fact,  that  the  present  volume  is  a  reprint 
from  the  nineteenth  Edinburgh  edition,  while  his 
previous  works  on  the  "  Intellectual  Powers" 
and  the  "  Moral  Feelings"  have  even  enjoyed  a 
still  wider  circulation  both  in  Europe  as  well  as 
in  this  country.  The  above  named  works  will 
also  be  found  included  among  the  series  of  the 
"  Family  Library," 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/abercrombieessaysOOaberrich 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

I.  Harmony  op  Christian  Faith  and  Christian 

Character 7 

II.  Culture  and  Discipline  of  the  Mind       .         .     99 

III.  Think  on  These  Things 147 

IV.  The  Contest  and  the  Armour         .        .        .  187 
V.  The  Messiah  as  an  Example   .     '   .        .        .  245 


THE 


HARMONY   OF   CHRISTIAN   FAITH 


CHRISTIAN   CHARACTER. 


TO  THE  INDUSTRIOUS  CLASSES. 

You  have  lately  been  addressed  on  a  variety 
of  subjects,  and  by  a  great  variety  of  individuals, 
all  of  whom  profess  to  feel  an  interest  in  your 
welfare.  He  who  now  claims  your  attention 
will  yield  to  none  of  them  in  the  deep  interest 
which  he  takes  in  you,  or  in  the  anxious  desire 
which  he  feels  to  contribute  anything  in  his  pow- 
er towards  promoting  your  comfort  and  better- 
ing your  condition.  He  has  been  long  in  hab- 
its of  much  intercourse  with  you,  and  has  learn- 
ed to  know  your  wants,  to  enter  into  your  feel- 
ings, and  to  estimate  your  character.  He  is 
now  desirous  to  cultivate  that  intercourse  more 
and  more,  and  to  communicate  with  you,  from 
time  to  time,  on  subjects  of  the  highest  interest 

There  was  a  period  in  the  history  of  this  coun- 
try, now  nearly  two  hundred  years  ago,  when 
political  contests  ran  very  high,  and  even  the 
pulpits  were  often  made  to  give  forth  the  sounds 
of  political  strife.  It  is  related  of  a  distinguish- 
ed clergyman  of  that  day,  that  he  was  found 
fault  with  by  his  friends  for  '*  not  preaching  to 


10  CHRISTIAN   FAITH   AND 

the  times."  He  replied  in  terms  which  carry 
with  them  a  weight  of  meaning  worthy  of  the 
most  deep  and  serious  attention,  "When  so 
many  brethren,"  said  he,  "  are  preaching  to  the 
times,  will  you  not  allow  one  poor  brother  to 
preach  to  eternity  ?" 

For  some  years  past  this  country  has  re- 
sounded from  end  to  end  with  discussions  and 
contests  which  relate  to  "  the  times."  You  of 
the  industrious  classes  have  had  your  attention 
much  occupied,  shall  I  say  distracted,  with 
these  discussions ;  and  each  new  topic,  as  it 
was  brought  before  you,  was  represented  as 
carrying  with  it  consequences  and  benefits  of 
the  highest  importance  to  your  prosperity  and 
your  comfort.  Some  experiments  have  conse- 
quently been  made,  and  you  are,  in  a  measure, 
qualified  to  judge  whether  they  have  answer- 
ed your  expectations  or  fulfilled  the  promises 
which  were  made  respecting  them.  Others  are 
still  proposed  with  equal  confidence ;  what  ben- 
efits may  result  from  them,  time  will  show. 

But,  amid  all  this  discussion  on  "  the  times," 
has  it  never  occurred  to  you  that  life  is  passing 
quickly  on,  and  will  very  soon  be  over;  that 
a  period  is  approaching  with  fearful  rapidity, 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  H 

when,  regarding  each  of  us,  "  time  shall  be  no 
longer  ?"  Has  it  never  occurred  to  you  to  think, 
with  deep  and  personal  interest,  of  that  hour 
when  all  that  our  best  friends  can  do  for  us  will 
be  to  convey  us,  with  suitable  decency,  to  the 
grave,  to  cover  us  with  the  green  turf,  and  then 
to  return  to  the  tumult  of  life  with  the  same 
activity  and  interest  as  if  we  had  never  been  ? 
To  them  the  face  of  nature  shall  bloom  fresh 
and  fair  as  it  bloomed  before  ;  and  the  full  tide 
of  life  shall  flow  on  as  it  flowed  before ;  and 
some  pageant  shall  again  move  on,  and  a  busy 
crowd  shall  follow  it  with  looks  of  wonder  and 
shouts  of  applause,  till  another  and  another  of 
them  shall  drop  into  the  grave,  and  life,  with 
all  its  dread  responsibilities,  shall  close  upon 
them  for  ever. 

For  life  has  dread  responsibilities  when  view- 
ed in  relation  to  a  life  which  is  to  come.  What- 
ever be  out  situation  in  this  world;  be  it  high 
or  low ;  be  it  one  of  ease  and  affluence,  or  of 
labour,  poverty,  and  suffering,  it  is  the  one  which 
has  been  assigned  to  us  by  the  great  Disposer 
of  all  things ;  and  every  rank  and  situation  has 
attached  to  it  peculiar  duties  and  peculiar  re- 
sponsibilities, for  which  we  must  render  a  strict 


12  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

account  to  Him  at  the  day  when  the  secrets 
of  all  hearts  shall  be  revealed,  and  every  man 
shall  be  judged  according  to  his  works.  Amid 
the  bustle  and  the  tumult  of  life  we  are  too  apt 
to  frame  to  ourselves  excuses  for  violations  of 
the  laws  of  God,  and  for  the  neglect  of  sacred 
and  important  duties ;  such  excuses  may  satisfy 
our  fellow-men,  but  the  solemn  question  is 
whether  they  will  satisfy  Him  whose  law  is 
holy  and  whose  justice  is  inflexible.  Were 
such  excuses  admitted  for  the  violation  of  hu- 
man laws,  the  whole  system  of  civil  society 
would  run  into  confusion  and  anarchy.  Have 
we  any  ground  for  believing  that  the  moral  gov- 
ernment of  God  will  be  exercised  in  a  manner 
which,  in  regard  to  human  laws,  would  be  reck- 
oned a  mockery  of  justice  ? 

But,  besides  the  actual  obedience  which  we 
owe  to  the  laws  of  God,  and  the  actual  duties 
which  pertain  to  our  various  relations  to  our 
fellow-men,  there  is  a  most  solemn  class  of  re- 
«  sponsibilities  which  belong  immediately  to  our- 
selves. There  is  a  part  within  us  which  shall 
not  die ;  an  immortal  spirit,  which  must  be  eter- 
nally happy  in  the  presence  and  enjoyment  of 
God,  or  eternally  miserable  under  the  weight  of 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  13 

his  righteous  displeasure.  To  every  man  is 
committed  the  solemn  trust  of  seeking  to  have 
this  immortal  being  prepared  for  its  appearance 
before  God.  It  must  be  the  subject  of  great 
and  careful,  and  anxious  moral  culture  in  each 
man  who  is  really  alive  to  his  high  destinies  as 
a  moral  and  immortal  being.  This  culture  con- 
sists of  a  discipline  within,  open  only  to  the  eye 
of  Him  whoseeth  in  secret.  By  his  mercy  and 
his  grace,  indeed,  ample  means  have  been  pro- 
vided, and  the  all-powerful  aid  of  his  Holy 
Spirit  is  promised  to  every  one  who  feels  the 
need  of  a  strength  that  is  not  in  man  ;  but  an 
essential  movement  must  be  in  the  mind  of  the 
individual  himself,  leading  him  to  the  diligent 
use  of  these  means,  and  the  earnest  and  habitual 
application  for  this  aid  ;  and,  in  the  whole  of  this 
mighty  undertaking,  the  great  and  solemn  re- 
sponsibility is  his  own. 

With  these  facts  and  considerations  continu* 
ally  placed  before  us  and  impressed  upon  our 
attention,  it  cannot  but  strike  us  as  a  matter  of 
astonishment  that  the  bulk  of  mankind  seem  so 
little  to  feel  their  importance.  Engrossed  by  the 
cares,  anxieties,  and  business  of  hfe,  or  occupied 
by  its  frivolities  and  follies,  year  after  year  pass- 
B 


14  CHRISTIAN  FAITH    AND 

es  over  them,  and  life  hastens  to  its  close,  while 
their  eager  and  undivided  attention  is  devoted  to 
pursuits  which  they  are  soon  to  leave  for  ever. 
Thus  old  age,  perhaps,  creeps  on,  and  the  mind, 
so  long  unaccustomed  to  serious  thought,  con- 
tinues to  be  occupied  to  the  last  with  the  con- 
cerns of  the  passing  hour;  or  acute  disease,  it 
may  be,  arrests  the  man  in  the  midst  of  all  the 
vigour  and  activity  of  life,  and  the  truth  bursts 
upon  him  in  a  moment  that  he  is  hurrying  into 
an  eternal  world,  while  he  has  made  no  prepar- 
ation for  the  wondrous  change,  and  has  scarce- 
ly devoted  one  serious  thought  to  the  fearful 
venture. 

There  cannot  be  a  question  of  more  intense 
interest  than  what  is  the  cause  of  this  extraor- 
dinary and  inconsistent  conduct.  It  is  simply 
and  primarily  to  be  ascribed  to  the  want  of  calm 
and  serious  thought.  Amid  the  occupations  and 
tumult  of  life,  men  do  not  seriously  question 
themselves  what  they  are,  and  what  they  are 
doing,  and  whither  they  are  going,  and  what 
preparation  they  are  making  for  the  life  which  is 
to  come.  There  is  nothing  which  makes  so 
great  a  difference  between  one  man  and  anoth- 
er as  the  practice  of  calm  and  serious  thinking. 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  15 

To  those  who  have  been  unaccustomed  to  it, 
there  is  required  at  first  an  effort,  but  it  is  entire- 
ly in  their  own  power  to  repeat  this  effort  if  they 
will  and  when  they  will.  It  becomes  every  day 
easier  by  perseverance  and  habit ;  and  the  habit 
so  acquired  exerts  a  material  influence  upon 
their  condition  as  responsible  and  immortal  be- 
ings. 

In  that  great  process,  therefore,  in  which  con- 
sists the  healthy  condition  of  any  man  as  a  moral 
being,  there  is  a  most  important  step,  of  which 
he  must  be  conscious  as  an  exercise  of  his  own 
mind.  You  feel  that  you  have  here  a  power, 
however  litile  you  may  attend  to  the  exercise 
of  it.  You  can  direct  your  thoughts  to  any  sub- 
ject you  please  ;  you  can  confine  them  to  objects 
^.  which  are  before  you  at  the  time,  or  occurrences 
which  have  passed  during  the  day,  or  you  can 
send  them  back  to  events  which  took  place  many 
years  ago.  You  can  direct  them  to  persons 
whom  you  are  in  the  habit  of  meeting  from  day 
to  day,  or  to  those  who  are  separated  from  you 
by  thousands  of  miles.  You  can  place  before 
you  persons  who  lived,  and  events  which  oc- 
curred long  before  you  came  into  existence, 
and  you  can  anticipate  and  realize  events  which 


16  CHRISTIAN   FAITH  AND 

are  pot  likely  to  occur  until  you  have  ceased  to 
exist. 

Study  these   wondrous    processes   of  your 
mind  ;  observe  what  power  you  have  over  them, 
and  what  consequences  of  eternal  importance 
must  arise  from  exercising  them  aright.     If  you 
>  can  thus  think  of  any  subject  you  please,  why 
cannot  you  think  of  God ;  of  his  power,  his  wis- 
dom, his  holiness,  his  justice  ;  of  his  law,  which 
he  has  written  in  your  heart  and  in  his  reveal- 
ed word  ?     Why  cannot  you  think  of  and  real- 
ize the  period  when  you  shall  lie  down  in  the 
grave,  and  that  tremendous  moment  when  all 
that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  the  voice  of 
the  Son  of  God,  and  they  that  hear  shall  live 
and  shall  arise  to  judgment  ?     Such  truths  as 
these,  duly  considered  or  thought  of,  could  not 
fail,  under  Divine  influence,  to  exercise  a  power- 
ful effect  upon  all  our  habits  of  thinking  and  act- 
ing in  this  life.     To  think  of  and  consider  them 
is  a  process  of  the  mind  which  it  is  the  imper- 
ative duty  of  every  rational  being  to  perform ; 
if  we  neglect  it,  the  guilt,  with  all  its  fearful  con- 
sequences, is  entirely  our  own. 

Cuhivate,  then,  this  important  power  of  think- 
ing of  "  things  which  are  not  seen,"  and  conse- 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  17 

quences  of  inconceivable  moment  will  result 
from  it  both  to  your  happiness  and  your  moral 
condition,  and  to  your  whole  habits  of  feeling 
and  judging  respecting  the  things  of  this  life  and 
of  the  life  which  is  to  come.  Retire  often  from 
the  tumult  of  the  world,  and  seriously  propose 
to  yourself  the  questions,  What  are  my  leading 
objects  in  this  hfe,  which  is  hastening  to  a  close, 
and  what  provision  am  I  making  for  that  life 
which  is  never  to  end  ?  In  the  exercise  of  that 
power  which  I  possess  of  thinking  of  whatever 
I  please,  what  are  the  subjects  which  chiefly  oc- 
cupy my  thoughts,  what  degree  of  thought  am 
I  directing  to  God  and  to  his  law,  and  to  that  ac- 
count which  I  am  soon  to  render  to  him  ?  In 
what  degree  is  my  conduct  regulated  by  a  sense 
of  his  presence  and  by  the  authority  of  his 
will  ?  To  what  extent  do  I  make  his  word  the 
rule  of  my  life,  and  look  to  it  habitually  as  the 
light  of  my  feet  and  the  lamp  of  my  paths  ?  Am 
I  discharging  the  various  duties  which  belong 
to  the  situation  in  which  I  am  placed  in  a  man- 
ner which  will  bear  the  dread  investigation  of 
that  day  when  I  must  give  an  account  of  my- 
self to  God  ?  Am  I  a  parent,  have  I  intrusted 
to  me  the  sacred  charge  of  beings  who,  like 
B2 


18  CHRISTIAN   FAITH   AND 

myself,  are  destined  to  an  eternal  existence; 
what  attention  am  I  devoting  to  the  solemn  re- 
sponsibility of  training  them  for  immortality? 
Let  me  review  my  whole  course  of  life,  my 
whole  habits  of  thinking,  and  the  objects  and 
pursuits  which  chiefly  occupy  my  thoughts  and 
engage  my  active  exertions,  and  say,  am  I  liv- 
ing for  time,  or  am  I  living  for  eternity  ? 

It  is  such  a  course  of  inquiry  as  this  that  de- 
termines a  man's  moral  condition.  He  may 
read  many  books  and  hear  many  sermons ;  he 
may  become  well  acquainted  with  doctrines,  and 
learn  to  argue  acutely  on  points  of  faith ;  but, 
whatever  progress  he  has  made  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  truth,  the  great  business  of  life  is  yet 
to  begin,  till  he  seriously  enters  on  the  mental 
exercise  of  applying  it  in  this  manner  to  his  own 
condition  in  the  sight  of  God,  who  searches  his 
heart,  and  who  perceives,  at  a  single  glance,  the 
whole  details  of  his  moral  history.  It  is  an  ex- 
ercise which  may  require  little  expense  of  lime  ; 
in  the  most  laborious  and  busy  life,  leisure  will 
be  found  for  it  when  there  exists  a  due  im- 
pression of  its  supreme  importance.  When  the 
exercise  has  grown  into  a  habit,  it  will  mingle 
itself  with  the  daily  concerns  of  life,  and  will 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  19 

shed  a  directing  and  enlightening  influence  over 
thenfi  all,  producing  an  habitual  sense  of  the  Di- 
vine presence,  and  a  uniform  rehance  on  Divine 
direction  and  aid  in  every  action  of  life.  It  was 
thus  that  the  King  of  Israel  "  remembered  God 
upon  his  bed,  and  meditated  on  him  in  the  night 
v^atches,''  and  his  earnest  desire  above  all  earth- 
ly things  was  that  he  might  "dwell  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  his  life,  to  be- 
hold the  beauty  of  the  Lord,  and  to  inquire  in 
his  temple;"  that  is,  to  hve  under  a  constant 
sense  of  the  presence  of  God,  to  contemplate 
his  character  and  perfections,  and  to  seek  the 
direction  of  the  Almighty  in  all  his  ways. 

The  mind  which  has  been  disciplined  to  this 
habit  of  exalted  thought  will  never  be  in  want 
of  subjects  on  which  it  may  be  exercised.  In 
the  works  of  creation,  above,  and  beneath,  and 
within,  it  will  trace  with  wonder  the  wisdom 
and  the  power  of  Him  who  made  them  all.  In 
the  ways  of  Providence  it  will  trace  the  daily 
working  of  his  hand,  and  will  learn  to  cast  it- 
self, with  filial  confidence,  on  the  disposal  of 
him  who  rules  among  the  children  of  men.  In 
the  word  of  God,  it  contemplates  him  in  new 
and  wondrous  characters,  at  once  of  justice  and 


20  CHRISTIAN    FAITH   AND 

of  mercy,  and  it  finds  there  a  subject  of  thought 
which,  the  more  frequently  and  more  closely  it 
is  studied,  presents  features  of  new  and  increas- 
ing interest.  Taken  in  its  more  enlarged  con- 
nexions, it  affords  a  study  for  the  most  profound 
reasoner,  while  its  shortest  passages  often  con- 
tain a  weight  of  meaning  accessible  to  the  most 
ordinary  understanding,  and  adapted  to  every 
relation  of  life.  We  ought,  therefore,  to  read 
diligently  the  word  of  God,  and  to  cultivate  the 
habit  of  directing  our  thoughts  to  the  important 
lessons  which  may  be  drawn  from  it.  This  is 
a  mental  exercise  highly  interesting  in  itself, 
and  productive  of  the  best  effects  both  on  the 
tranquillity  of  our  minds  and  the  regulation  of 
our  conduct.  It  should  be  accompanied  by  ear- 
nest prayer  for  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  enlighten  our  minds  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  and  to  impress  it  upon  our  hearts  in  such 
a  manner  that  it  may  become  the  regulating 
principle  of  our  whole  character. 

The  habit  of  calm  and  serious  thought,  which 
has  been  the  subject  of  these  observations,  may 
become  the  prevailing  or  habitual  exercise  of  a 
duly  regulated  mind.  But  there  are  special  sea- 
sons of  retirement  and  reflection  which  are  pe- 


CHRISTIAN  CHARACTER.  21 

culiarly  favourable  to  it,  and  specially  intended 
for  its  cultivation.  Among  these  we  oiay  reck 
on  the  seasons  of  private  and  domestic  devo- 
tion, and  the  sacred  rest  of  the  Sabbath,  that 
wondrous  provision  of  Divine  wisdom  and  mer 
cy  for  withdrawing  us  from  the  concerns  of  time, 
and  leading  our  thoughts  to  the  things  of  eter- 
nity. We  are  too  apt  to  lose  sight  of  the  real 
design  and  supreme  importance  of  the  Sabbath. 
We  are  too  much  disposed  to  consider  the  ob- 
servance of  it  merely  as  a  certain  duty  to  be 
performed,  and  not  to  feel  aright  its  unspeak- 
able value,  as  a  period  given  us  for  sacred 
thought,  as  a  means  of  moral  culture.  Learn, 
then,  to  value  the  Sabbath  ;  esteem  its  exercises 
as  the  food  of  the  soul ;  as  that  which  is  in- 
tended to  nourish  you  unto  eternal  life.  To 
those  who  are  laboriously  occupied  on  other 
days,  there  is  something  peculiarly  and  solemn- 
ly valuable  in  the  evening  of  the  Sabbath.  You 
are  not  fatigued  as  on  other  evenings  with  the 
necessary  labours  of  the  day  ;  you  have  attend- 
ed public  ministrations  of  religion,  which  must 
have  left  some  impression  upon  your  mind 
of  the  things  which  relate  to  your  everlasting 
peace.     Then  is  the  time  to  retreat  from  all  in 


tf 
22  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

trusion,  to  shut  your  door,  to  gather  your  fam- 
ily around  you,  and  to  contennplale  yourself  and 
them  as  passing  through  a  scene  of  moral  dis- 
cipline to  an  eternal  existence.  Lose  not  the 
benefit  of  the  precious  moments;  take  your 
children  to  your  side ;  fold  them  in  the  arms 
of  parental  affection  ;  and  talk  to  them  of  that 
God  who  has  appointed  them  their  lot  in  this 
world,  and  from  whose  all-seeing  eye  nothing 
can  hide  them  for  a  moment.  Talk  to  them  of 
their  high  destiny  as  immortal  beings,  and  of 
the  great  provision  which  is  made  in  the  Gospel 
of  Christ  for  the  nourishment  and  growth  of 
the  soul.  Talk  to  them  of  this  life  which  is 
hastening  to  a  close,  and  of  that  eternal  life 
which  is  never  to  end  ;  and  point  out  to  them, 
from  the  word  of  God,  ihe  way  to  eternal  peace. 
Gather  them  around  you,  and  kneel  before  the 
throne  of  God  ;  seek  his  mercy  and  his  grace ; 
commit  yourself  and  them  to  his  guidance 
through  life,  and  to  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spir- 
it to  prepare  and  purify  you  for  the  life  which  is 
to  come.  Thus  shall  you  return  to  the  labours, 
the  cares,  and  the  uncertainties  of  the  world, 
with  the  high  bearing  of  one  who  is  pursuing  a 
better  portion  than  aught  that  the  world  can 


■1# 

CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  23 

give.  Thus  shall  your  habitation  be  the  abode 
of  happiness,  of  peace,  and  of  love.  Thus  shall 
your  children  rise  up  to  call  you  blessed.  They 
shall  go  out  from  their  father's  house  with  im- 
pressions upon  their  minds  of  "things  which 
are  eternal ;"  impressions  calculated,  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  to  preserve  them  from  the  evil 
that  is  in  the  world,  and  to  lead  them  through 
the  labours  and  anxieties  of  life  as  heirs  of  im- 
mortality. 


HARMONY 


CHRISTIAN    FAITH 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER. 


**  And  besides  this,  giving  all  diligence,  add  to  your  faith,  virtue ; 
and  to  virtue,  knowledge ;  and  to  knowledge,  temperance ; 
and  to  temperance,  patience ;  and  topatience,  godliness  ;  and 
to  godliness,  brotherly  kindness  ;  and  to  brotherly  kindness, 
charity."— 2  Peter  i.,  5,  6,  7. 

In  the  style  and  composition  of  the  Sacred 
Writings,  nothing  is  more  remarkable  than  the 
manner  in  which,  by  a  few  simple  expressions, 
there  is  laid  before  us  a  detailed  and  harmonious 
display  of  Christian  faith  and  Christian  char- 
acter. In  such  expositions,  each  single  word  is 
often  found  to  be  a  clear  and  distinct  subject  of 
contemplation  in  itself,  while  the  combination  is 
arranged  with  such  consummate  skill,  yet  sim- 
plicity and  clearness,  that  it  becomes  at  once  a 
study  for  the  philosopher  in  moral  science,  and 
C 


26  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

a  guide  to  the  most  humble  Christian  in  his 
daily  conduct  through  life.  A  beautiful  exam- 
ple of  this  nature  is  furnished  by  the  passage 
which  we  have  placed  at  the  head  of  this  essay; 
and,  in  its  connexion  with  the  observations  which 
go  before  it,  taken  along  with  the  peculiar  rela- 
tion of  its  own  component  parts,  it  displays  the 
foundation  of  Christian  hope,  and  affords  a  de- 
lineation of  Christian  character  in  a  manner 
the  most  harmonious  and  comprehensive. 

This  striking  exhortation  is  addressed  to  those 
who  profess  to  have  received  the  truth  respect- 
ing the  divine  character  and  atonement  of  the 
Messiah,  and  to  rest  their  hope,  in  the  sight  of 
God,  on  that  great  revelation  of  his  mercy  and 
grace  which  is  contained  in  the  gospel  of  peace. 
The  apostle  expresses  to  them  his  earnest  desire 
that  they  may  grow  in  grace  and  in  peace,  found- 
ed upon  the  knowledge  which  they  receive  in 
the  gospel  of  the  character  of  God  as  it  is  dis- 
played in  his  Son  ;  and  he  strikingly  calls  their 
attention  to  the  provisions  which  are  therein  held 
out  to  them,  so  adapted  to  all  their  spiritual  ne- 
cessities. He  reminds  them  that  God  has  him- 
self provided  for  them  in  the  Gospel  all  that  is 
required  for  their   spiritual  life  and  for   their 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  27 

sanctification  to  his  service ;  while  he  has  en- 
riched this  message  of  mercy  with  "  great  and 
precious  promises,"  calculated  to  bring  them 
into  a  state  of  conformity  to  the  nature  of  God, 
and  to  preserve  them  from  the  evil  that  is  in  the 
world  through  the  degradation  of  the  moral  na- 
ture of  man. 

Having  thus  laid  before  them  the  ground  of 
their  hope  in  the  sight  of  God  and  the  means 
provided  for  their  progress  in  the  Divine  life,  he 
goes  on  to  impress  upon  their  attention  those 
qualities  of  individual  character  which  every 
one  who  is  resting  his  hope  upon  this  foundation 
is  called  upon  to  cultivate  with  the  most  anx- 
ious care,  as  his  great  concern  in  his  passage 
through  this  scene  of  moral  discipline.  He  is 
required  to  **give  all  diligence"  in  this  great 
work ;  implying  that,  in  the  cultivation  of  this 
character,  there  is  something  to  be  done  by  an 
exercise  of  the  mind  itself.  This  is  a  truth 
which  we  are  too  apt  to  lose  sight  of,  while 
under  a  profession  of  our  own  weakness  w^e  ac- 
knowledge our  need  of  Divine  aid,  but  sit  still 
in  indolence  and  await  its  coming.  True  it  is, 
indeed,  that  without  this  aid  we  can  do  nothing ; 
but  it  is  not  an  impression  which  a  man  may 


28  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

imagine  that  he  feels,  and  then  content  himself 
with  the  ideal  communicaiion.  It  is  a  power 
which  acts  through  the  healthy  operations  of  his 
own  mind  ;  in  the  exercise  of  these,  endeavour- 
ing, as  a  rational  being,  to  regulate  his  thoughts 
and  desires  by  a  sense  of  the  Divine  will,  he  is 
encouraged  to  expect  its  communication  ;  and 
it  is  in  feeling  these  assuming  the  characters  of 
moral  health  that  he  has  the  evidence  of  its 
actual  presence.  "  Give  all  diligence,"  there- 
fore, says  the  apostle,  in  the  cultivation  of  those 
qualities  of  character  which  are  the  only  evi- 
dence to  yourselves  or  to  others  that  you  are 
really  interested  in  the  gospel  of  peace.  **  Give 
diligence,"  he  says  again,  **  to  make  your  call- 
ing and  election  sure."  *'  Work  out  your  own 
salvation,"  says  another  apostle,  *'  with  fear  and 
trembling,"  having  before  you  the  encourage- 
ment of  a  strength  and  a  might  that  is  not  in 
man  to  carry  you  forward  in  the  great  under- 
taking, "  for  God  workelh  in  you  to  will  and  to 
do  of  his  good  pleasure." 

A  great  and  important  truth,  which  is  clearly 
pointed  out  in  such  exhortations,  is,  that  we  have 
a  certain  power,  not  only  over  our  conduct,  but 
over  the  processes  of  our  minds  and  the  regu- 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  29 

lalion  of  our  thoughts ;  and  that,  in  the  diligent 
exercise  of  this  power,  and  a  state  of  mental 
discipline  arising  out  of  it,  we  are  encouraged 
to  look  for  an  influence  from  God  to  enlighten 
our  darkness,  to  give  strength  in  our  weakness, 
and  to  make  us  **  more  than  conquerors"  over 
all  the  difficulties  and  dangers  which  are  before 
us  in  our  progress  to  an  eternal  world.  The 
subject  is  one  of  deep  and  extensive  interest ; 
the  various  important  points  of  consideration 
which  arise  out  of  it  could  not  be  expressed  in 
a  more  striking  manner  than  in  the  exhortation 
of  the  apostle,  "  Giving  all  diligence,  add  to 
your  faith,  virtue ;  and  to  virtue,  knowledge  ; 
and  to  knowledge,  temperance ;  and  to  temper- 
ance, patience  ;  and  to  patience,  godliness  ;  and 
to  godliness,  brotherly  kindness  ;  and  to  broth- 
erly kindness,  charity." 

In  attempting  a  brief  illustration  of  a  subject 
of  such  extent  and  importance,  the  first  object 
of  attention  which  meets  us  is,  that,  in  all  this 
exhibition  of  moral  qualities,  the  primary  and 
fundamental  principle  is  faith.  This  is  at  once 
the  source  of  spiritual  life  and  the  supporting 
element  of  moral  health ;  and,  until  a  man  be 
C2 


30  CHRISTIAN   FAITH    AND 

firmly  established  in  this  great  principle,  it  is 
vain  for  him  to  expect  to  make  any  progress  in 
the  cultivation  of  Christian  character".  When 
we  thus  consider  faith  as  the  source  or  primary 
moving  cause,  essential  to  the  culture  of  every 
sound  quality  of  the  mind  and  to  every  regu- 
lation of  individual  conduct,  we  have  to  view 
it  in  two  aspects:  in  its  relation  to  truths  re- 
garding things  not  seen,  and  more  especially 
and  peculiarly  in  its  relation  to  the  offers  or 
promises  of  the  gospel  of  peace. 

In  considering  the  operation  of  faith  in  re- 
gard to  the  truths  which  relate  to  things  not  seen, 
we  have  to  keep  in  mind  the  peculiarity  of  the 
situation  in  which  we  are  placed  in  the  present 
state  of  existence.  In  our  connexion  with  the 
things  of  the  present  world  we  are  surrounded 
by  physical  or  material  objects ;  with  these  we 
communicate  by  means  of  our  bodily  senses ; 
they  are  continually  obtruding  themselves  upon 
our  attention  with  little  or  no  exertion  of  our 
own,  and  therefore  they  exercise  over  us  a  con- 
stant and  extensive  influence.  But  these  are 
not  our  only  relations  ;  as  moral  and  responsi- 
ble agents,  as  immortal  beings,  we  have  to  do 
with  objects  as  real  as  those  which  are  present 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  31 

ed  to  our  senses,  though  of  a  very  different  na- 
ture. The  truths  by  which  we  ought  to  be  in- 
fluenced respecting  them  are  addressed  to  a 
different  part  of  our  constitution,  and  are  to  be 
received  upon  a  separate  kind  of  evidence. 
They  do  not  come  under  the  cognizance  of  any 
of  our  senses,  but  are  addressed  directly  to  the 
mind ;  and  their  due  influence  upon  us  is  pro- 
duced through  that  mental  process  which  we 
call  faith.  In  the  exercise  of  this  important  op- 
eration of  the  mind,  our  first  object  is,  by  a  pro- 
cess of  judgment,  to  satisfy  ourselves  of  the  au- 
thenticity of  the  statements  which  are  thus  ad- 
dressed to  us ;  and  this  we  do  by  an  examina- 
tion of  the  evidence  on  which  they  rest.  When 
we  are  thus  convinced  of  their  truth,  the  farther 
operation  of  faith  is  to  place  them  before  us  in 
such  a  manner  that  they  may  exert  the  same 
kind  of  influence  over  us  as  if  the  things  be- 
lieved were  actually  seen,  or  the  events  expect- 
ed were  taking  place  in  our  view.  This  corre- 
sponds with  the  definition  given  by  the  apostle  : 
"  Faith  is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  and 
the  evidence  of  things  not  seen  ;"  that  is,  faith  is 
that  exercise  of  the  mind  by  which  things  which 
are  future,  but  expected  to  take  place,  influence 


Si  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

US  as  if  they  were  present ;  and  things  not  seen 
as  if  we  saw  them. 

The  truths  which  it  is  the  office  of  faith  thus 
to  place  before  us  with  all  the  vividness  of  pres- 
ent  existence  are  those  which  relate  to  the  char* 
acter  and  perfections  of  God ;  the  great  concerns 
of  a  world  unseen,  and  the  awful  realities  of  a 
future  judgment,  and  a  state  of  endless  being. 
When  these  overwhelming  truths  are  really  be- 
lieved, and  the  thoughts  are  consequently  di- 
rected to  them  in  a  degree  at  all  proportioned  to 
their  momentous  importance,  the  mind  is  in  the 
exercise  of  faith ;  and  its  operation  is  to  keep 
the  truths  before  us  as  regulating  principles  in 
the  mental  economy,  and  governing  principles 
in  the  whole  character  and  conduct.  It  causes 
them  to  exercise  the  same  kind  of  influence  over 
us  as  if  they  were  objects  of  sense  ;  as  if  the 
Deity,  in  all  the  splendour  of  his  attributes,  were 
disclosed  to  our  view,  or  as  if  we  were  present 
at  the  dread  hour  in  which  he  shall  appear  in 
all  his  sublime  and  terrible  majesty  as  a  righte- 
ous judge. 

Now  in  this  important  process  of  the  mind 
it  is  impossible  not  to  be  struck  with  the  con- 
sideration of  how  much  appears  to  belong  to 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  33 

ourselves  in  the  exercise  of  our  powers  as  ra- 
tional beings.  The  truths  are  revealed,  and 
their  evidence  is  before  us  ;  but  the  due  atten- 
tion to  ihem  must  be  entirely  our  own.  It  is 
ours  to  examine  the  evidence  by  which  these 
important  truths  are  supported  ;  and,  being  sat- 
isfied of  their  reality,  it  is  an  exercise  of  our 
own  minds  to  direct  our  thoughts  to  them  in 
such  a  manner,  or  to  keep  them  so  before  the 
mind,  that  they  may  exert  their  due  influence 
over  our  whole  character.  The  man  who,  in 
every  action  of  life,  thus  bears  upon  his  mind 
an  habitual  sense  of  the  Divine  presence  and  a 
realizing  impression  of  an  eternal  world,  is  he 
who  lives  by  faith.  Such  a  character  is  stri- 
kingly contrasted  with  the  conduct  of  those  who 
live  by  sense ;  who  are  influenced  only  by  the 
things  which  they  see  around  them,  and  devote 
their  supreme  attention  to  objects  and  pursuits 
which  they  are  soon  to  leave  for  ever. 

Such  is  the  operation  of  faith  in  regard  to 
tru^.h ;  we  have  next  to  attend  to  its  agency  re- 
specting the  offers  or  promises  of  the  Gospel. 
This  great  revelation  of  peace  is  addressed  to 
us  as  beings  in  a  state  of  condemnation  and  of 
impurity  from  which  we  have  no  power  to  de- 


34  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

liver  ourselves.     For  the  one  it  reveals  a  dis- 
pensation of  niercy,  in  which,  with  perfect  con- 
sistency with  all  the  attributes  of  his  charac- 
ter, the  Deity  oflfers  a  free  forgiveness ;  for  the 
other  is  promised  an   influence  from  himself 
capable  of  renewing  the  moral  nature  of  man, 
and  of  raising  him  again  to  the  image  of  God. 
The  benefits  thus  freely  promised  are  offered 
to  every  one  who  believes ;  and  who  is  he  that 
believes  ?  he  who  is  convinced  of  his  guilt,  and 
perceives  his  moral  necessities  ;  who  feels  that 
he  is  incapable  of  delivering  himself  from  their 
power ;  who  is  satisfied  of  the  efficacy  of  the 
offered  deliverance,  and  confides  in  the  faithful- 
ness or  sincerity  of  Him  who  offers  it ;  this  is 
he  who  believes ;  and  through  this  failh  a  man 
is  saved  ;  for,  acting  upon  the  impression  of  the 
truths  thus  believed,  he  asks  an  interest  in  these 
offered  blessings,  and  throws  himself  upon  the 
faithfulness  of  God  for  a  participation  in  the  full 
benefits  of  redemption. 

When,  under  the  influence  of  the  mental  im- 
pressions which  have  been  thus  briefly  referred 
to,  a  man  has  been  led  to  seek  an  interest  in 
the  provisions  of  the  Gospel,  he  enters  upon  a 
new  course  of  existence,  the  leading  character 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  35 

of  which  is,  that  it  is  founded  upan  and  main- 
tained by  failh.  Believing  his  guilt,  and  confi- 
ding in  the  sincerity  of  God  in  a  free  offer  of  par- 
don, he  seeks  an  interest  in  the  blessings  of  re- 
demption for  his  reconciliation  to  God.  Be- 
lieving his  moral  depravity  and  helplessness,  he 
seeks  continued  communications  of  grace  and 
strength  for  his  growing  sanctification  and  his 
progressive  advancement  in  the  Divine  life. 
Believing  the  actual  existence  of  things  future 
and  things  unseen,  he  feels  upon  his  mind  their 
habitual  influence,  the  presence  and  the  perfec- 
tions of  God,  and  all  the  realities  of  an  eternal 
world.  Thus  he  both  lives  and  walks  by  faith ; 
his  faith  is  the  source  of  his  spiritual  life,  and 
it  is  the  great  mean  of  his  daily  progress. 

It  is  to  those  who  profess  to  have  entered 
upon  this  life  of  faith  that  the  striking  exhor- 
tation of  the  apostle  is  addressed ;  pointing  out 
to  them  at  once  the  graces  of  the  Christian 
character  which  they  are  called  upon  to  culti* 
vate  with  "all  diligence,"  and  the  means  by 
which  they  may  be  enabled  to  advance  with 
success  in  this  great  undertaking. 

I.  He  exhorts  them,  in  the  first  place,  Add  to 
your  faith  Virtue. 


36  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

The  word  which  is  usually  translated  virtue 
is  well  known  to  imply,  in  its  original  and  strict 
signification,  fortitude.  In  its  connexion  in  this 
passage  it  appears  to  naean  simply  a  firmness 
and  consistency  of  mind  in  reference  to  the 
truths  which  are  the  objects  of  faith,  a  determi- 
nation to  contemplate  them  steadily  in  all  their 
tendencies,  and  an  habitual  effort  to  keep  them 
before  the  mind,  so  that  they  may  become  reg- 
ulating principles  in  the  whole  conduct.  It  in- 
cludes, therefore,  an  earnest  endeavour  to  culti- 
vate that  character  and  conduct  which  the  truths 
so  believed  are  calculated  to  produce  in  every 
one  who  really  believes  them.  This  is  the  first 
great  step  in  that  mental  exercise  which  consti- 
tutes living  by  faith  ;  and  it  cannot  be  too  strong- 
ly impressed  upon  us  how  much  it  is  a  process 
of  the  mind,  of  which  every  one  must  be  con- 
scious who  really  performs  it.  From  the  want 
of  it  we  see  such  inconsistencies  of  character 
in  those  who  profess  to  believe  the  most  im- 
portant truths  and  who  think  they  believe  them. 
They  have,  it  may  be,  directed  some  attention 
to  the  evidence  of  the  truths,  and  have  yielded 
a  certain  assent  of  the  understanding  to  their 
reality,  but  this  conviction  has  not  been  followed 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  37 

Up  by  that  necessary  process  of  the  mind  which 
is  calculated  to  bring  the  truths  into  practical 
operation  upon  the  moral  condition ;  they  have 
neglected  entirely  the  exhortation  to  add  to  their 
faith  virtue. 

This  important  exercise  of  the  mind  must  be 
in  habitual  and  active  operation  in  him  who  de- 
sires to  live  by  faith.  The  things  of  time  and 
sense  with  which  we  are  continually  surround- 
ed exert  over  us  a  constant  influence;  and  it 
requires  a  peculiar  and  intense  direction  of  the 
mind  to  withdraw  us  from  their  power,  and  to 
cause  us  to  feel  as  we  ought  the  influence  of 
events  which  are  future  and  of  things  which 
are  not  seen.  It  requires  this  exercise  to  be  in 
a  state  of  peculiar  activity  when  we  are  called 
upon  to  act,  under  the  impression  of  these  future 
and  unseen  things,  in  opposition  to  present  feel- 
ings and  present  interests,  and  in  circumstances, 
it  may  be,  in  which  this  has  to  be  done  by  great 
exertion  and  great  personal  sacrifice.  When  a 
man  does  thus  resist  the  strongest  inducements 
of  present  things,  and  sacrifices  the  strongest 
personal  feelings,  propensities,  and  interests, 
under  simple  impressions  of  things  which  are 
future  and  unseen  ;  and  when  he  exhibits  in  his 
D 


38  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

whole  deportment  a  character  guided  by  these 
impressions,  to  the  overcoming  of  present  feel- 
ings and  personal  interests  whenever  they  hap- 
pen to  interfere  with  each  other,  this  is  to  live 
by  faith,  and  this  is  to  add  to  his  faith  virtue. 

Such,  in  a  remarkable  degree,  was  the  con- 
duct of  Noah.  Warned  of  God  that  the  world 
was  to  be  destroyed  by  water,  and  instructed  to 
prepare  an  ark  for  the  preservation  of  his  house- 
hold, he  promptly  commenced  this  formidable 
undertaking,  and  persevered  in  it  through  a  long 
course  of  years  with  unshrinking  steadiness. 
During  this  protracted  period  he  had  not  only 
to  undergo  much  severe  labour,  but,  in  the  pros- 
ecution of  it,  must  have  withdrawn  himself  from 
many  engagements,  and  denied  himself  many 
indulgences  which  present  feelings  and  interests 
would  have  rendered  highly  desirable.  Besides 
all  this,  we  must  suppose  that  he  had  to  encoun- 
ter, day  after  day,  the  derision  and  insults  of 
those  around  him,  added,  most  probably,  to  the 
earnest  remonstrances  of  such  as  called  them- 
selves his  friends  against  wasting  his  life  in  so 
unprofitable  a  labour.  But  these  insults,  pri- 
Yations,  and  remonstrances  were  alike  disregard- 
ed by  this  distinguished  man  of  faith,  while  he 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  39 

endured  as  seeing  Hrm  who  is  invisible,  and 
persevered  in  his  work  under  the  firui  and  un- 
deviating  conviction  that  what  God  had  said  he 
would  certainly  perform.  Thus  does  he  exhib- 
it a  wonderful  example  of  that  character  which 
is  founded  upon  and  maintained  by  faith  ;  and 
thus  has  he  left  us  a  striking  pattern  of  acting  on 
his  faith  with  unshrinking  determination  and  for- 
titude, in  opposition  to  every  impulse  from  pres- 
ent things ;  or,  in  the  language  of  the  apostle, 
of  adding  to  his  faith  virtue. 

And  thus  will  it  be  with  every  one  who  really 
lives  under  the  power  of  faith,  that  is,  who  feels 
upon  his  mind  the  due  influence  of  the  truths 
which  he  believes  respecting  things  future  and 
unseen.  This  wondrous  principle,  when  cul- 
tivated as  the  regulating  power  in  the  whole 
character,  elevates  the  man  above  present  feel- 
ings, and  carries  him  into  a  region  where  new 
objects  are  presented  to  his  view,  and  pursuits 
of  a  new  and  superior  order  engage  his  atten- 
tion and  meet  his  enlarged  desires.  He  is 
raised  to  "  Mount  Zion,  the  city  of  the  living 
God,  to  an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  and 
the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect;  to  God 
the  judge  of  all,  and  Jesus  the  Mediator  of  the 


4t)'  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

new  covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling, 
which  speaketh  better  things  than  the  blood  of 
Abel."  Thence  returning  to  the  humble  con- 
cerns of  the  present  world,  and  all  his  engage- 
ments anaong  perishing  things,  he  feels  their  un- 
satisfying character,  and  learns  to  pass  through 
them  under  the  habitual  impression  that  this 
is  not  his  rest,  nor  here.his  portion.  Giving  all 
diligence  to  add  to  his  faith  virtue,  it  will  be 
his  endeavour,  by  earnest  meditation  and  prayer, 
to  keep  the  impression  of  these  truths  habitu- 
ally before  his  view,  so  that  they  may  alike  in- 
fluence the  habits  of  his  mind,  and  show  this 
influence  in  every  part  of  his  conduct.  The 
sublime  conceptions  produced  on  the  mind  of 
such  a  man  respecting  the  character  of  God 
will  be  peculiarly  powerful  when  contemplating 
him  as  he  is  revealed  in  his  Son.  In  that  great 
message  of  mercy  and  of  peace  he  has  been 
taught  to  seek  his  only  hope  of  reconciliation 
to  God,  as  well  as  his  only  means  of  making 
progress  in  the  Divine  life.  Acting  under  the 
powerful  influence  of  these  great  objects  of 
faith,  he  will  derive  from  them  a  continual  and 
lively  motive  to  love  and  new  obedience  ;  know 
ing  that  "  he  is  not  his  own,  but  bought  with  a 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  41 

price,"  and  that  he  is  under  the  most  powerful 
obligations  to  live,  not  to  himself,  but  to  Him 
who  died  for  him  and  rose  again.  Thus  culti- 
vating with  anxious  care  an  immediate  feeling 
of  the  character  and  perfections  of  God,  the 
man  of  faith  seeks  to  keep  the  impression  ha- 
bitually before  him  as  the  directing  principle  of 
his  life,  and  to  have  every  emotion  and  every 
desire,  and,  consequently,  every  part  of  his  con- 
duct, regulated  by  a  sense  of  the  Divine  will. 
All  this  important  process  of  moral  discipline, 
we  must  repeat,  is  closely  connected  with  an 
exercise  of  the  mind,  of  which  every  one  must 
be  conscious  who  really  performs  it.  This  con- 
sists, as  we  have  seen,  in  a  strong  and  habitual 
direction  of  the  thoughts  to  those  truths  which 
are  the  objects  of  faith,  so  that  their  power 
shall  enter  into  every  feeling  of  the  mind.  At 
first  the  exercise  may  require  an  effort,  and  ha- 
bitual watchfulness  may  be  necessary  to  pre- 
vent the  distracting  influence  of  the  things  of 
sense.  But,  like  every  habit,  it  becomes  easier 
by  repetition  and  perseverance,  until,  under  the 
influence  of  a  power  that  is  not  in  man,  it  set- 
tles down  into  the  uniform,  consistent  conduct 
of  one  who  endures  as  seeing  Him  who  is  in- 
D2 


42  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

visible  ;  and,  amid  the  cares,  anxieties,  and  dis- 
tractions of  life,  gives  all  diligence  to  add  to  his 
faith  virtue. 

That  discipline  of  the  mind  which  thus 
brings  it  under  the  habitual  influence  of  the 
truths  which  are  the  objects  of  faith  has  well 
received  from  the  apostle  the  name  of  fortitude 
or  virtue  ;  for  a  high  degree  of  moral  courage 
is  required  for  commencing  it,  and  a  high  tone 
of  moral  determination  is  necessary  for  carry- 
ing it  forward  with  effect.  The  first  great  step 
towards  it  is  that  most  difficult  of  all  exercises 
of  the  mind  which  consists  of  seriously  looking 
within.  It  is  easy  to  investigate  doctrines  and 
to  weigh  evidences ;  and  there  is  a  delightful 
sense  of  intellectual  vigour  in  detecting  error, 
and  exposing  sophistry,  and  demonstrating  the 
triumph  of  truth.  It  is  comparatively  easy  also, 
and  it  is  delightful  to  a  regulated  mind,  to  rise 
above  the  events  of  ordinary  life,  and  to  ascend, 
in  exalted  contemplation,  to  those  higher  re- 
gions, where  shine  forth  in  a  peculiar  manner 
the  Divine  perfections ;  to  luxuriate  amid  the 
wonders  of  creation,  the  wonders  of  Providence, 
:and,  it  may  be  also,  the  mysteries  of  grace. 
But.  after  the  mind  has  been  disciplined  to  thes.e 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  43 

high  pursuits,  a  more  difficult  exercise  remains, 
and  that  is  to  look  within,  and  determinedly  to 
press  the  question  respecting  our  own  moral 
condition,  and  how  far  we  are  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  truths  which  we  profess  to  believe. 
It  is  to  search  out  the  very  worst  concerning 
ourselves,  and  steadily  to  contemplate  the  truth 
so  discovered  in  all  its  important  bearings  upon 
our  prospects  for  eternity.  Do  I  beheve  the 
omiscience  and  omnipresence  of  Him  who  is 
not  only  the  witness  of  my  conduct,  but  who 
tries  even  the  thoughts  of  my  heart  by  the  high 
and  holy  standard  of  his  law  ?  then  is  my  moral 
condition  within  such  as  will  bear  the  inspec- 
tion of  that  eye.  Do  I  believe  in  the  solemni- 
ties of  a  coming  judgment,  in  which  strict  ac- 
count shall  be  required,  and  the  secrets  of  all 
hearts  revealed  ?  When  my  whole  moral  his- 
tory is  then  displayed,  and  this  account  required 
of  me,  what  shall  I  answer  ?  Such  a  course  of 
rigid  scrutiny  is  the  first  great  step  in  that  moral 
process  in  which  consists  the  health  of  the  soul. 
When  a  man  has  determinedly  nerved  himself 
for  the  work,  and  has  resolved  that  nothing  shall 
shake  him  from  his  stern  and  rigid  accomplish- 
ment, this  is  to  add  to  his  faith  virtue. 


44  CHRISTIAN    FAITH  AND 

II.  That  this  discipline  of  the  mind,  so  es- 
sential to  the  health  of  every  nioral  being,  may 
be  conducted  upon  right  principles,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  pay  minute  attention  to  the  truth  and 
soundness  of  those  opinions  which  are  thus  re- 
ceived as  objects  of  faith  and  adopted  as  regu- 
lating principles  in  the  character.  Therefore, 
continues  the  apostle,  to  your  faith  and  virtue 
add  Knowledge,  This  is  a  consideration  of  the 
utmost  importance,  which,  though  it  may  be  re- 
cognised in  theory,  is  less  attended  to  in  prac- 
tice than  it  ought  to  be.  Whatever  is  received 
as  ihe  object  of  faith  must  first  be  presented  to 
the  mind  as  the  object  of  knowledge ;  that  is, 
it  must  be  received  only  upon  full  examination, 
and  upon  such  evidence  as  is  sufficient  to  con- 
vince the  understanding  of  its  truth.  Without 
this  the  professed  belief  must  be  either  some 
vague  generality  unworthy  of  the  character  of 
truth,  or  some  vision  of  the  mind  itself  which 
leads  only  to  enthusiasm ;  it  is  not  faith. 

On  this  subject  various  errors  are  committed, 
but  all  of  them  are  of  serious  moment.  One 
of  the  most  common,  perhaps,  is  indifference. 
Men  who  do  not  profess  to  believe  the  great 
truths  relating  to  things  not  seen  are  at  no  pains 


,  CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  4{V 

to  study  and  examine  them.    With  what  eager 
attention  do  we  find  them  applying  to  interest- 
ing questions  in  politics,  trade,  or  science  ;  seek- 
ing intensely  after  accurate  knowledge,  and  di- 
recting all  the  energies  of  their  mind  towards  ar- 
riving at  the  whole  truth.     But  with  what  cool- 
ness do  they  apply  to  those  inquiries  which  most 
of  all  concern  them.     In  these  they  are  satis- 
fied with  some  vague  and  general  notions,  which, 
perhaps,  they  have  been  taught  in  their  youth, 
or  which  they  have  adopted  from  others  with- 
out feeling  the  supreme  importance  of  making 
themselves  fully  acquainted  with  the  truth ;  of 
forming  distinct  and  clear  opinions,  and  of  per- 
ceiving distinctly  the  grounds  on  which  these 
opinions  are  formed  ;  of  being  satisfied  whether 
their  belief  is  consistent  with  truth,  and  wheth- 
er it  embraces  the  whole  truth  on  those  great 
questions  in  which  are  involved  their  hopes  and 
prospects  for  a  life  that  is  to  come. 

Others  affect  to  disbelieve  these  great  truths, 
and  to  consider  them,  perhaps,  as  the  supersti- 
tions of  vulgar  minds ;  and  they  seem  to  think 
it  a  proof  of  superior  understanding  to  treat  them 
with  contempt  or  even  with  ridicule.  Do  we 
ask  such  persons  for  some  account  of  that  long. 


46  CHRISTIAN   FAITH   AND 

and  laborious,  and  serious  course  of  inquiry  by 
which  they  have  arrived  at  this  conclusion  on  a 
question  of  such  momentous  importance,  v^c 
must  not  press  them  too  closely  for  an  answer. 
We  shall  find  that  they  have  scarcely  examin- 
ed them  at  all.  They  have  allowed  their  minds 
to  be  carried  away  by  some  trivial  objection  or 
some  fanciful  sophism ;  and  truths  which  re- 
ceived the  cordial  assent  of  Newton,  and  of 
many  others  distinguished  by  understandings  of 
the  highest  order,  are  often  dismissed  by  the 
most  frivolous  minds  as  altogether  unworthy  of 
belief.  This  affectation  of  skepticism  is  as  con- 
temptible as  it  is  melancholy.  It  is  not  the  re- 
sult of  calm  investigation,  but  the  rash  decision 
of  a  distorted  and  prejudiced  mind,  which  is 
turned  aside  by  its  own  partial  views,  widely  at 
variance  with  sound  inquiry,  or  which,  misled 
by  its  moral  condition,  has  argued  itself  into  the 
disbelief  of  what  it  wishes  not  to  be  true.  For, 
in  many  who  have  become  the  victims  of  vain 
and  sophistical  opinions,  the  will  evidently  takes 
the  lead  in  the  mental  process,  and  opinions  are 
seized  upon  with  avidity  and  embraced  as  truth 
which  have  recommended  themselves  to  previ- 
ously existing  inclinations  of  the  heart.     This 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  47 

is  a  principle  in  the  philosophy  of  human  nature 
of  most  intense  and  solemn  interest.  For  when 
the  desires  of  the  heart  have  once  departed  from 
a  full  approbation  of  the  purity  of  the  Divine 
law,  the  course  is  easy  by  which  the  mind 
frames  for  itself  a  system  in  accordance  with  its 
own  disordered  inclinations,  and,  after  a  certain 
process,  comes  to  rest  in  that  system  as  truth. 
In  both  cases  the  unbelief  arises  not  from  de- 
ficiency of  evidence,  but  from  a  total  want  of 
that  condition  of  the  mind  without  which  the 
best  evidence  has  no  power;  **If  they  believe 
not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  would  they 
be  persuaded  though  one  rose  from  the  dead." 
There  are  persons  of  a  third  class  who,  pro- 
fessing a  sincere  love  for  the  truth,  wander  from 
it  by  their  own  speculations,  and  by  neglecting 
that  calm  and  deliberate  application  of  the  mind 
which  is  required  for  adding  to  their  faith  knowl- 
edge. It  is  thus  that,  in  all  ages,  men  have  de- 
luded themselves  and  led  others  astray  by  put- 
ting vague  conceptions  in  the  place  of  truth.  To 
every  one  who  would  preserve  himself  from  such 
delusions  the  great  and  solemn  object  of  inqui- 
ry ought  to  be,  upon  what  ground  his  opinions 
have  been  formed;   have  they  been  deduced 


48  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

from  a  full  and  candid  investigation  ?  and  do 
they  rest  on  such  evidence  as  is  sufficent  to  sat- 
isfy a  sound  understanding  that  they  are  true  ? 
We  have  an  interesting  but  melancholy  picture 
of  human  nature  when  we  endeavour  to  trace 
the  principles  by  which  minds  of  a  serious 
character  are  influenced  in  thus  departing  from 
the  simplicity  of  the  truth.  In  some  it  would 
appear  to  arise  from  a  love  of  singularity,  or  a 
desire  of  appearing  wiser  than  their  neigh- 
bours ;  in  others  from  an  ambition  to  be  vi^ise 
above  what  is  written,  accompanied  generally 
with  a  restless  activity  of  mind  and  vividness 
of  imagination,  while  there  has  been  very  little 
cultivation  of  the  judgment.  The  peculiarity 
in  the  actual  mental  condition  of  such  persons  is, 
that  they  look  only  to  one  view  of  a  question. 
Having  formed  their  opinions,  probably  on  slight 
and  feeble  grounds,  their  whole  ingenuity  is  di- 
rected to  finding  arguments  in  support  of  them 
instead  of  rigidly  examining  their  truth ;  and 
they  do  not  allow  themselves  to  consider  fairly 
the  objections,  or  the  views  and  principles 
which  are  opposed  to  their  own.  This  habit 
of  the  mind  is  usually  accompanied  with  a  high 
confidence  in  its  own  powers  and  a  contempt 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  49 

for  those  who  differ ;  and  the  persons  who  are 
under  its  influence  generally  become,  in  a  great 
measure,  inaccessible  to  argument,  and  almost 
unsusceptible  of  the  force  of  facts  and  consid- 
erations which  are  opposed  to  their  favourite 
views.  This  arises  from  the  habit  of  directing 
their  attention  entirely  to  one  view  of  a  subject 
or  to  one  side  of  a  question,  while  they  put 
away  from  them  all  that  is  opposed  to  it.  For 
when  false  opinions  have  once  been  allowed  to 
fasten  on  the  mind,  the  evil  is  not  confined  to 
the  particular  dogma  which  is  embraced,  but 
an  injury  has  been  done  to  the  mental  economy, 
which  is  apt  to  continue,  or  even  to  increase,  and 
to  carry  the  individual  more  and  more  deeply 
into  error  and  delusion.  When  a  man  o/  a 
certain  activity  of  mind  and  energy  of  charac- 
ter has  thus  framed  for  himself  a  system  dif- 
fering in  some  prominent  manner  from  the  es- 
tablished opinions  of  those  around  him,  the  fa- 
cility is  equally  remarkable  with  which  he  finds 
zealous  proselytes.  These  appear,  in  general, 
to  be  influenced  by  principles  similar  to  those 
which  have  been  referred  to.  There  is  a  feel- 
ing of  intellectual  superiority  in  appearing  to 
think  more  deeply  or  more  acutely  than  others ; 
E 


50  CHRISTIAN    FAITH   AND 

in  pursuing  discoveries  beyond  the  reach  of  or- 
dinary minds  ;  in  standing,  with  the  enhghtened 
few,  apart  from  the  multitude,  who  are  content 
to  tread  the  beaten  path  which  their  fathers  trod 
before  them.  Such  a  feeling  influences  the 
judgment  in  a  manner  which  will  not  be  admit- 
ted by  those  who  most  strongly  manifest  its  pow- 
er ;  it  does  so  chiefly  by  a  misdirection  of  the 
attention,  that  is,  by  leading  them  to  consider 
only  their  favourite  system,  without  paying  any 
regard  to  the  considerations  which  might  show 
it  to  be  fallacious. 

For  preserving  from  all  such  perversions  of 
the  understanding,  and  that  pernicious  influence 
on  the  whole  moral  economy  which  follows,  the 
only  security  is  in  a  close  attention  to  the  apos- 
tle's exhortation,  that  to  faith  be  added  knowl- 
edge. For  this  purpose  the  utmost  care  must 
be  habitually  exercised  that  the  mind  be  calm- 
ly and  steadily  directed  to  an  examination  of  the 
truth,  and  the  utmost  anxiety  felt  to  prevent  it 
from  wandering  into  partial  view^s  or  specula- 
tions guided  by  favourite  fancies.  Such  is  the 
discipline  of  a  mind  which  seeks  the  truth  in 
the  love  of  it ;  and  in  the  prosecution  of  its 
inquiries,  conducted  with  humility  and  candour, 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  51^ 

it  is  encouraged  to  look  for  an  influence  from 
Heaven  which  will  preserve  it  from  error,  and 
prove  to  it  strength,  and  light,  and  wisdom. 

Though  it  thus  appears  that  all  true  faith 
must  be  founded  on  knowledge,  there  is  a  pe- 
culiar propriety  and  beauty  in  the  order  in  which 
the  mental  operations  are  staled  by  the  apostle  ; 
first  faith,  then  virtue,  and  then  knowledge. 
For  the  first  step  in  this  great  mental  process 
is  that  frame  or  disposition  of  mind  in  which 
it  is  open  to  receive  truth  in  simplicity  and  can- 
dour ;  to  take  a  full  view  of  all  its  parts,  and  to 
give  full  weight  to  all  its  evidences  ;  and  with  an 
earnest  determination  to  apply  it  to  all  those 
purposes  which  it  ought  to  answer  in  the  regu- 
lation of  the  whole  character.  When,  with  such 
a  disposition  of  mind,  the  attention  is  directed 
to  a  diligent  inquiry  after  the  particular  truths, 
the  individual  is  in  that  state  of  discipline  in 
which  he  is  most  likely  to  prosecute  the  mo- 
mentous inquiry  with  success.  He  is  so  ac- 
cording to  the  established  laws  of  the  mind,  by 
which  such  a  sincere  and  candid  love  of  truth 
naturally  leads  to  the  discovery  of  it  in  every 
department  of  knowledge.  But,  besides  this, 
in  the  search  after  Divine  truth  a  special  di- 


52  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

rection  is  promised  to  the  sincere  and  humble 
mind.  This  appears  to  be  the  condition  so  of- 
ten referred  to  in  the  Scriptures  as  receiving 
the  truth  "as  a  httle  child;"  and  it  appears  to 
be  that  which  is  intended  by  our  Lord  when  he 
says,  "  if  any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know 
of  the  doctrines  whether  they  be  of  God."  Such 
a  man  enters  on  the  great  inquiry  with  a  deep 
feeling  of  its  momentous  importance,  and  a  sin- 
cere and  simple  desire  to  discover  the  whole 
truth ;  and  he  adds  to  this  an  earnest  determi- 
nation to  press  home  each  truth  to  all  its  conse- 
quences on  his  own  moral  condition ;  to  take  it 
as  the  guide  of  his  life,  and  the  regulating  prin- 
ciple in  the  moral  economy  of  his  heart  and  of 
his  mind;  this  is  he  who  adds  to  his  faith  vir- 
tue, and  to  virtue  knowledge. 

The  mental  attributes  which  have  been  re- 
ferred to  in  the  preceding  observations,  consist- 
ing of  faith,  virtue,  and  knowledge,  may  be  con- 
sidered as  those  which  form  the  foundation  of 
Christian  character ;  but  they  are  the  foundation 
only,  not  the  real  structure  of  which  that  char- 
acter consists.  From  the  consideration  of  them, 
therefore,  we  are  naturally  led  to  that  influence 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER. 


which  they  ought  to  produce  upon  the  moral 
feelings  of  the  rnind  and  the  regulation  of  the 
whole   character  and. conduct,    without  which 
knowledge  is  vain  and  faith  is  barren.     This 
most  important  part  of  the  subject  is  divided  by 
the  apostle  into  two  branches;  the, one  relating 
to  the  moral  condition  of  the  individual  himself, 
consisting  of  temperance,  patience,  and  godli- 
ness ;  the  other  having  respect  to  his  conduct 
to  his   fellow-men,  in  brotherly  kindness  and 
charity.     All  these  qualities  are  required  to  be 
in  constant  and  harmonious  operation  to  consti- 
tute  a  healthy  moral  condition  ;  and  there  is 
either  self-deception,  or  a  pretension  of  what  is 
not  really  felt,  when  there  is  the  appearance  or 
profession  of  some  of  them  without  the  harmony 
of  the  whole.     Though  a  man  may  show  much 
conduct  having  the  characters  of  brotherly  kind- 
ness and  charity,  there  is  a  radical  error  in  the 
mental  economy  if  these  are  not  founded  upon 
faith  and  knowledge,  and  accompanied  by  tem- 
perance, patience,  and  godliness.     And,  what- 
ever display  there  may  be  of  knowledge,  these 
are  but  empty  names  unless  they  are  accom- 
panied by  temperance  and  patience,  and  lead  to 
brotherly  kindness  and  charity. 
E2 


54  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

III.  Therefore,  continues  the  apostle,  as  the 
first  great  result  of  your  faith,  virtue,  and  knowl- 
edge, add  Temperance, 

In  ascertaining  the  precise  meaning  of  such 
an  expression  as  this,  derived  from  an  ancient 
language,  our  proper  course  appears  to  be  to 
refer  to  the  meaning  affixed  to  it  by  ancient 
writers  who  wrote  in  the  same  language.  When 
we  do  so  in  regard  to  this  expression,  we  find 
that  the  ancient  writers  on  moral  science  at- 
tached great  importance  to  a  distinction  which 
they  made  between  temperance  and  continence. 
By  continence  they  expressed  the  mental  con- 
dition of  a  man  who  has  irregular  desires  or  in- 
clinations, but  does  not  yield  to  the  gratification 
of  them ;  by  temperance  the  condition  of  him 
whose  desires  and  inclinations  themselves  are 
under  due  regulation  and  control.  When  we 
assume  this,  therefore,  as  the  ancient  and  pre- 
cise meaning  of  the  term,  a  subject  is  opened 
to  us  of  great  extent  and  supreme  importance , 
the  discipline  of  the  heart.  It  is  most  appro- 
priately placed  where  it  stands  in  the  enumera 
tion  of  moral  qualities  before  us,  as  the  first 
step  in  that  great  moral  process  in  which  con 
sists  the  health  of  the  soul.    Faith,  virtue,  and 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  55 

knowledge  are  the  means  ;  and  these  constitute 
mental  exercises  which  may  be  called  intellect- 
ual. Brotherly  kindness  and  charity,  again,  ex- 
press attributes  of  character  in  a  man's  conduct 
towards  his  fellow-men.  But  between  these 
there  is  placed  a  class  of  moral  qualities,  in 
which  consists  his  own  sound  condition  as  a 
moral  being,  and  on  which  depends  the  aspect 
in  which  he  is  viewed  in  the  sight  of  Him  who 
"  looketh  on  the  heart ;"  these  are  enumerated 
by  the  apostle  under  the  heads  of  temperance, 
patience,  and  godliness.  Among  the  three 
classes  of  qualities,  however,  there  is  a  close 
and  most  important  relation.  Faith,  virtue,  and 
knowledge,  we  have  seen,  are  connected  with 
processes  of  the  mind  over  which  we  have  a 
certain  degree  of  voluntary  power,  and  in  the 
due  exercise  of  them  much  depends  upon  this 
power  being  exerted  in  a  steady  and  persevering 
manner.  The  result  of  this  is  to  bring  us  under 
the  agency  of  certain  truths  relating  to  things 
not  seen,  which  have  a  direct  tendency,  under 
Divine  influence,  to  produce  most  important  ef- 
fects upon  the  moral  condition  of  our  own  minds 
and  hearts.  When  this  great  end  has  been  ac- 
complished, a  certain  conduct  and  character  ful- 


56  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

low,  not  by  any  distinct  and  separate  effort,  but 
as  a  natural  and  indispensable  consequence  :  the 
tree  being  nnade  good,  the  fruit  will  be  good; 
the  fountain  being  purified,  the  water  will  be 
pure. 

The  consideration  of  temperance,  therefore, 
leads  us  to  a  subject  of  the  deepest  importance, 
the  regulation  of  the  heart ;  the  cultivation  of 
a  pure  and  healthy  state  of  the  desires,  affec- 
tions, and  dispositions  of  the  mind,  those  prin- 
ciples within  from  which  our  external  conduct 
and  character  proceed.  "  Keep  thy  heart," 
says  an  inspired  writer,  "  with  all  diligence,  for 
out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life." 

The  subject  must  be  one  of  supreme  import 
ance  in  the  estimation  of  every  man  who  feels 
what  that  is  which  constitutes  a  state  of  moral 
purity  in  the  eye  of  God.  Man  can  judge  of 
man  by  his  external  character  alone,  but  ''the 
Lord  looketh  on  the  heart;"  and  there  may  be 
much  of  irregular  desire,  unsubdued  passion, 
and  impure  imagination  within,  which  are  not 
allowed  to  show  themselves  in  the  conduct. 
There  are  various  principles  by  which  this  may 
be  accounted  for.  In  restraining  the  conduct 
of  men,  much  is  done  by  the  influence  of  hu- 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  57 

man  laws,  much  by  a  regard  to  health  and  in*- 
terest,  and  much  more  still  by  our  regard  to  the 
opinions  of  other  men,  our  desire  of  their  ap- 
probation and  esteem,  our  fear  of  their  contempt, 
indignation,  or  anger ;  very  much  by  a  regard 
to  character,  a  principle  of  most  extensive  op- 
eration with  all  descriptions  and  classes  of  men. 
There  may  be  even  a  certain  operation  of  con- 
science, or  a  conviction  of  what  is  morally  right 
and  wrong,  contending  with  an  unsound  inclina- 
tion within  and  restraining  the  outward  conduct, 
while  the  desire  is  still  cherished,  and  the  en- 
vious passion  or  impure  imagination  still  holds 
its  place  in  the  heart.  But,  if  we  really  be- 
lieve that  every  desire  and  imagination  of  the 
heart  is  open  to  the  eye  of  God,  we  cannot  for 
a  moment  suppose  that  this  can  be  in  his  esti- 
mation a  sound  moral  condition.  To  constitute 
moral  purity,  the  heart  must  be  pure ;  the  de- 
sires and  inclinations  of  the  mind,  and  our  af- 
fections or  dispositions  towards  God  and  towards 
man  must,  equally  with  our  external  conduct,  be 
regulated  by  the  indications  of  conscience,  and 
by  a  supreme  regard  to  the  Divine  will.  The 
habitual  direction  of  the  thoughts  should  be  such 
as  recognises  the  inspection  of  infinite  purity. 


58  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

When  the  Psalmist,  accordingly,  prays  the  Eter- 
nal One  to  scrutinize  minutely  his  moral  con- 
dition, it  is  by  saying,  "  Search  me  and  know 
my  heart,  try  me  and  know  my  thoughts,  and 
see  if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me,  and  lead 
me  in  the  way  everlasting." 

But  a  mind  which  is  not  the  slave  either  of 
impure  desire  or  malignant  passion  may  be  de- 
voted to  pursuits  which  relate  only  to  present 
things;  to  wealth,  to  power,  to  distinction;  or 
may  be  allowed  to  waste  itself  in  the  mere  fri- 
volities and  trifles  of  the  passing  hour.  A  sound 
condition  of  the  heart  and  of  the  mind  requires 
not  only  the  absence  of  unsound  and  irregular 
emotions,  but  the  careful  culture  of  those  which 
are  worthy  of  our  high  destiny  as  immortal 
beings.  It  leads  us  to  seek  after  spiritual  bless- 
ings and  moral  acquirements  ;  to  "  set  our  affec- 
tions on  things  above,  not  on  things  on  the 
earth  ;"  it  calls  us  to  the  cultivation  of  kind  and 
benevolent  feelings  towards  men,  and  of  love, 
submission,  and  devotedness  towards  God  ;  of  a 
habitual  desire  to  feel  the  impression  of  his 
presence,  and  to  have  every  action  of  life  and 
every  desire  and  emotion  of  the  mind  regulated 
by  the  sense  of  his  holiness  and  purity.     It  leads 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  59 

US  to  direct  our  minds,  with  a  suitable  degree 
of  atlenlion,  to  tlie  various  duties  and  responsi- 
bilities which  belong  to  the  particular  situation 
in  which  we  are  placed,  and  the  means  and  op- 
portunities of  usefulness  which  are  commiited 
to  us  ;  our  high  responsibilities  as  parents  and 
as  children,  as  masters  or  servants,  as  subjects, 
as  neighbours  and  friends,  as  possessed  of  tal- 
ents which  ought  to  be  devoted  to  the  glory  of 
God,  or  of  wealth  in  regard  to  which  we  must 
render  to  him  a  strict  account  of  our  steward- 
ship :  and,  finally,  it  leads  us  to  feel  all  the  deep 
responsibility  of  that  culture  of  the  soul  which 
alone  can  qualify  and  prepare  it  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  God. 

The  cultivation  of  a  state  of  mind  which  feels 
as  it  ought  such  impressions  as  these,  is  closely 
connected  with  a  most  important  principle  in 
our  mental  constitution,  the  power  which  we 
have  over  the  regulation  and  direction  of  our 
thoughts.  We  feel  that  we  possess  such  a 
power,  however  imperfectly  we  may  exercise  it. 
We  can  direct  the  thoughts  to  any  subject  we 
please ;  we  can  continue  them  intensely  directed 
to  it,  so  as  to  follow  out  the  train  of  thinking 
to  which  it  gives  rise  ;  and  we  can  vary  or  dis- 


60  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

miss  it  at  our  will.  But  this  requires  a  certain 
effort,  especially  in  tho^  who  have  been  little  ac- 
custonaed  to  close  and  serious  thinking.  With- 
out this  eifort  we  leave  the  mind  to  be  occu- 
pied only  with  passing  events,  or  to  frame  for 
its  own  amusement  vain  delusions  and  phan- 
toms of  the  imagination  no  better  than  dreams, 
and  as  unprofitable.  The  due  control  and  regu- 
lation of  this  power  over  our  thoughts  lie  at  the 
foundation  of  all  true  mental  culture,  and  there 
is  nothing  that  makes  a  more  essential  differ- 
ence between  one  man  and  another  than  a  due 
regulation  of  the  thoughts  and  the  subjects  to 
which  they  are  habitually  directed.  In  all  men, 
indeed,  there  are  various  subjects  to  which  the 
thoughts  must  be  directed  in  the  ordinary  con- 
cerns of  life;  and  these  must  occupy  a  great 
degree  of  attention  in  persons  who  may  differ 
widely  from  each  other  in  the  regulation  of  the 
mind.  But  there  are,  to  all,  seasons  of  leisure 
from  these  concerns,  in  which  the  mind  seeks 
•  telief  in  some  other  occupation.  It  is  then  that 
a  man  may  read  in  his  own  thoughts  both  his 
intellectual  and  his  moral  condition ;  and  if  he 
then  attend  to  the  habits  of  his  mind  with  an 
earnest  desire  to  know  the  truth,  he  will  find  a 
monitor  within  which  will  never  deceive  him. 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  61 

It  is  true,  indeed,  that  a  due  regulation  of  the 
thoughts  does  not  alone  constitute  a  sound  moral 
condition  ;  but  they  are  closely  and  immediately 
connected.  Correct  and  pure  moral  emotion 
towards  God,  and  a  pure  and  healthy  state  of 
moral  feeling  in, our  own  mental  discipline  in 
general,  are  conditions  of  the  mind  over  which 
we  have  not  a  direct  control ;  that  is,  we  cannot 
call  them  up  at  our  will.  But,  by  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  mind,  they  are  the  natural  result  of 
certain  truths,  and  they  are  called  forth  by  a 
proper  direction  of  the  attention  to  those  truths, 
so  that  their  natural  effects  may  be  produced 
upon  the  moral  feelings.  In  making  this  state- 
ment we  lose  not  sight  of  the  important  fact  that 
the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God  is  required  to 
bring  home  these  truths  with  effect  to  a  mind 
which  has  never  felt  their  power.  But  we  abuse 
this  important  doctrine  when  we  talk  of  it  in  a 
manner  which  turns  aside  our  view  from  the 
power  which  we  possess  over  our  own  minds, 
and  the  deep  and  solemn  responsibility  which 
attaches  to  every  man  in  the  due  exercise  of  it ; 
the  deep  guilt  which  may  be  incurred  by  a  neg- 
lect of  adequate  attention  to  the  truths  which 
are  calculated  to  influence  the  moral  condition  of 
F 


62  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

the  mind,  and,  through  it,  to  regulate  the  whole 
character.  However  nnuch  we  want  the  inclina- 
tion to  exercise  it,  we  feel  that  we  have  the  pow- 
er. We  can  direct  our  thoughts  intensely  and 
seriously  to  God  ;  can  contemplate  his  power 
and  wisdom,  his  purity  and  his  holiness,  and  all 
the  solemnities  of  an  eternal  world  and  a  judg- 
ment to  come.  We  can  consider  seriously  the 
various  responsibilities  and  duties  which  belong 
to  our  own  condition  in  life,  and  can  rigidly  ques- 
tion ourselves  whether  we  are  discharging  them 
in  a  manner  which  will  bear  the  light  of  an  eter- 
nal day.  We  can  in  the  same  manner  look  with- 
in, and  strictly  question  ourselves  respecting  our 
moral  condition  in  the  sight  of  Him  who  search- 
es our  hearts  and  knows  our  inmost  thoughts. 
We  can  thus  cherish  trains  of  thinking  which 
have  a  tendency  to  promote  correct  feelings  of 
the  mind,  and  we  can  avoid  or  banish  such  as 
have  an  opposite  tendency.  We  can  study  with 
diligence  the  word  of  God,  and  contemplate  de- 
liberately and  carefully  the  various  important 
truths  which  are  there  disclosed  to  us,  and  their 
tendencies  both  for  the  regulation  of  our  minds 
and  the  guidance  of  our  conduct.  This  process 
of  the  mind,  indeed,  requires  a  steady  and  per- 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  63 

severing  effort,  and  unceasing  watchfulness ; 
and  every  one  who  seriously  enters  upon  the 
great  undertaking  will  feel  continually  his  own 
weakness  and  his  need  of  a  power  that  is  not 
in  hinnself.  But,  while  he  humbly  and  earnest- 
ly s^eeks  for  this  alnnighty  power  to  enlighten  his 
darkness,  and,  in  his  weakness,  to  give  strength, 
let  him  not  forget  the  part  which  is  his  own  ;  let 
him  not  lose  sight  of  the  full  import  of  the  apos- 
tle's exhortation,  calling  upon  him  to  "give  all 
diligence,"  that  to  his  faith,  virtue,  and  knowl- 
edge he  may  add  temperance. 

IV.  From  the  whole  mental  condition  which 
has  been  referred  to  in  the  preceding  observa- 
tions, another  naturally  arises,  which,  in  fact,  is 
nearly  allied  to  it ;  to  temperance  must  be  add- 
ed Patience.  This,  considered  as  a  quality  of 
individual  character,  seems  to  imply  a  state  of 
mind  which  may  be  viewed  in  its  important  in- 
fluence both  in  reference  to  God  and  to  our  re- 
lations to  our  fellow-men.  In  reference  to  God, 
it  implies  not  only  submission  to,  but  a  cordial 
acquiescence  in,  the  dispensations  of  his  provi- 
dence, as  parts  of  a  great  system  carried  for- 
ward by  infinite  wisdom,  and  calculated  to  an 


64  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

swer  important  purposes  in  his  great  scheme  of 
moral  government.  It  leads  us  thus  to  rest  in 
the  absolute  conviction  that  the  whole  economy 
of  Providence  is  one  great  and  magnificent  sys- 
tem of  design,  and  order,  and  harmony.  The 
mental  tranquillity  arising  from  this  conviction 
will  be  felt  both  in  relation  to  our  ow^n  concerns 
and  to  those  which  are  going  on  in  the  world 
around  us.  In  regard  to  the  former,  it  leads  us 
to  rest  in  a  sense  of  our  being  in  the  hand  of  a 
Father,  infinite  in  wisdom  as  in  goodness  and 
mercy,  who  has  appointed  us  the  place  we  are 
to  occupy  in  this  state  of  moral  discipline,  and  in 
the  assurance  that  it  is  the  one  best  suited  to 
promote  his  great  purposes  and  our  own  eter- 
nal good.  We  are  thus  taught  to  consider  the 
peculiar  duties  which  belong  to  our  lot,  and 
how  we  may  best  glorify  God  in  it,  rather  than 
to  compare  it  with  the  lot  of  others,  and  thus 
discover  sources  of  discontent.  Even  the  anx- 
ieties and  troubles  of  life  we  are  taught  to  re- 
gard with  similar  feelings,  knowing  that,  if  used 
as  a  means  of  moral  discipline,  they  are  condu- 
cive to  our  highest  improvement;  that  tribula- 
tion, viewed  and  improved  in  this  manner, 
'worketh  patience,  and   patience  experigice, 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  65 

and  experience  hope  ;  and  that  this  hope  maketh 
not  ashaaied."  The  peace  arising  from  this  con- 
dition of  the  mind  should  also  be  experienced  in 
reference  to  the  events  which  are  taking  place 
in  the  world  around  us.  Though  "  the  heathen 
should  rage,  and  the  people  imagine  a  vain 
thing,"  it  directs  us  to  a  hand  which  controls 
their  movements;  and,  even  when  events  as- 
sume their  most  alarming  aspect,  we  are  still 
led  to  contemplate  the  operation  of  that  hand 
with  humble  confidence,  and  to  rest  in  the  as- 
surance that  "  the  Lord  reigneth." 

The  mental  condition  which  is  referable  to 
patience  has  also  a  most  important  relation  to  a 
man's  intercourse  with  his  fellow-men.  It  is 
nearly  synonymous  with  meekness,  and  closely 
allied  to  humility,  and  all  the  graces  of  charac- 
ter which  spring  from  it.  It  leads  a  man  to 
form  a  moderate  estimate  of  his  own  rights  and 
pretensions,  and  to  take  the  most  enlarged  esti- 
mate of  the  rights  and  feelings  of  other  men. 
It  leads  him  to  be  slow  to  take  offence ;  to  put 
the  best  construction  on  the  conduct  and  motives 
of  others  ;  to  seek  peace,  and  often  to  submit  to 
injuries  rather  than  violate  it.  Such  a  disposi- 
tion has  its  reward  in  itself;  the  man  who  pos- 
F2 


^6  CHRISTIAN  FAITH  AND 

sesses  it  passes  quietly  through  life,  borne  far 
above  all  its  lesser  disturbances  and  evils  by 
his  habitual  sense  of  those  great  concerns  which 
relate  to  the  life  which  is  to  come. 

V.  In  this  striking  enumeration  of  the  quali- 
ties of  Christian  character  we  haye  seen  that 
temperance  and  patience  relate  to  the  internal 
moral  condition  of  the  man.  But  there  is  most 
appropriately  placed  in  immediate  connexion 
with  them  that  mental  exercise  by  which  they 
are  promoted  and  cherished.  Faith,  virtue, 
and  knowledge  are  of  no  value  unless  they  be 
productive  of  temperance  and  patience ;  but 
these  essential  qualities  cannot  be  maintain- 
ed in  growth  and  progress  without  Godliness. 
Wherefore,  says  the  apostle,  to  your  temperance 
and  patience  add  godliness. 

We  read  in  scripture  of  those  who  live  with- 
out God  in  the  world  ;  that  is,  without  any  im- 
pression of  his  character,  without  any  sense  of 
his  presence,  without  any  regard  to  his  law, 
without  any  gratitude  for  his  goodness,  and  with- 
out any  feeling  of  their  dependance  upon  him 
both  for  mercy  and  for  spiritual  strength.  We 
read  of  others  who  think  of  God   as   such   a 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  67 

one  as  themselves  ;  that  is,  bringing  down  his 
high  and  holy  attributes  to  a  conformity  with 
their  own  degraded  moral  feelings.  The  state 
of  mind  here  designated  by  the  term  godliness 
seems  to  be  that  which  is  opposed  to  both  these 
conditions.  It  implies  forming  high  and  worthy 
conceptions  of  the  Divine  character,  and  habit- 
ually cherishing  these  as  the  regulating  princi- 
ple of  Qur  own  moral  condition.  The  attributes 
of  God,  indeed,  are  far  above  our  full  compre- 
hension. They  are  higher  than  heaven  ;  what 
can  we  do  ?  they  are  deeper  than  hell ;  what 
can  we  know  ?  the  measure  of  them  is  longer 
than  the  earth  and  broader  than  the  sea ;  who, 
by  searching,  can  find  out  God  ?  But  from  his 
works  and  from  his  word  we  can  derive  such 
knowledge  of  him  as  is  sufficient  for  all  the 
purposes  of  our  guidance,  direction,  and  comfort 
in  this  our  state  of  moral  discipline.  From  his 
works  around  us  we  trace  his  power  and  wis- 
dom, ^nd  should  learn  to  bow  in  humble  adora 
tion  before  him  who  called  all  things  into  being 
by  his  word,  and  maintains  them  all  in  undevi 
ating  harmony.  From  the  moral  impressions 
of  our  own  minds,  or,  in  other  words,  in  the 
light  of  conscience,  we  may  read  his  perfections 


68  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

as  a  being  of  infinite  holiness,  and  righteousness, 
and  truth.  All  these  impressions  are  confirnned 
and  illustrated  by  his  revealed  word,  where,  in 
addition  to  those  great  and  overwhelming  attri- 
butes of  his  character,  we  learn  his  perfections 
as  a  God  of  love,  long-suffering  and  slow  to 
anger,  not  willing  the  death  of  a  sinner,  but  that 
he  turn  from  his  wickedness  and  live.  We 
learn  the  wondrous  provision  which  he  has 
made  for  the  recovery  of  his  lost  creatures  ;  and 
are  led  to  throw  ourselves  before  his  throne  of 
mercy,  seeking  his  pardon  and  his  grace  to 
help  us  in  every  lime  of  need  ;  seeking  that 
strength  which  he  has  promised  to  every  one 
that  asks  it  to  carry  us  forward  in  our  state  of 
trial  and  discipline,  and  to  prepare  and  purify 
us  for  the  immediate  enjoyment  of  himself. 

He  who  feels  upon  his  mind  such  impres- 
sions of  the  Divine  character,  and  cultivates 
them  in  a  manner  in  any  degree  adequate  to 
their  supreme  importance,  will  naturally  seek 
after  intercourse  with  God ;  will  desire  to  feel 
the  influence  of  his  continual  presence,  and  to 
cherish  the  sense  of  his  holiness  as  the  regula- 
ting principle  of  the  character,  and  even  of  the 
desires  and  imaginations  of  the  heart.     He  will 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  69 

find  increasing  delight  in  con tena plating  the  per- 
fections of  God.  He  will  desire  to  continnit  hinn- 
self,  with  filial  confidence  and  love,  to  the  dis- 
posal of  his  heavenly  Father,  and  to  make  his 
will  the  habitual  rule  of  his  whole  conduct ;  he 
will  look  to  his  mercy  as  the  only  ground  of 
safety,  and  to  his  grace  as  the  only  source  of 
spiritual  strength  and  the  only  means  of  progress 
in  those  great  concerns  which  pertain  to  an  im 
mortal  being.  Thus  will  he  "  dwell  in  the  house 
of  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  his  life,  to  behold 
the  beauty  of  the  Lord,  and  to  inquire  in  his 
temple." 

The  disposition  of  mind  which  we  have  thu« 
considered  as  being  included  under  the  term 
godliness  may  be  the  habitual  exercise  of  the 
duly  regulated  mind.  But  there  are  certain 
special  means  by  which  it  is  encouraged  and 
promoted ;  and  the  chief  of  these  is  prayer. 
Not  that  the  Eternal  Omniscient  One  requires  to 
be  informed  either  of  our  wants  or  our  desires. 
All  our  necessities  are  better  known  to  him 
thaft  they  are  to  ourselves  ;  and  the  most  secret 
thoughts  and  inclinations  of  the  heart  are  naked 
and  open  before  him.  But  he  has  specially 
appointed  the  exercise  of  prayer  as  a  means  of 


70  CHRISTIAN  FAITH    AND 

communication  with  himself,  and  through  which 
he  is  pleased  to  dispense  the  blessings  of  his 
grace.  In  addition  to  these  considerations,  the 
exercise  of  prayer  is  calculated  to  bring  a  spe- 
cial and  peculiar  benefit  to  ourselves.  In  the 
midst  of  our  ordinary  engagements  in  life,  in- 
deed, we  may  elevate  the  soul  to  God  ;  but, 
surrounded  by  the  distractions  of  external  things, 
this  must  be  done  in  a  partial  and  unsatisfac- 
tory manner.  Our  feeble  and  imperfect  nature, 
so  much  under  the  influence  of  the  objects  of 
sense,  requires  every  possible  aid  to  enable  us 
to  feel  the  due  impression  of  the  things  of  faith. 
It  requires  us  to  withdraw  from  external  things, 
and  in  solitude  and  silence,  and  by  solemn  acts 
of  devotion,  to  bring  ourselves,  as  it  were,  into 
the  immediate  presence  of  God.  There  is  a 
power  in  the  mind  by  which  it  thus  brings  down 
upon  itself  an  influence  from  the  inner  sanctu- 
ary, a  special  impression  of  the  perfections  of 
that  incomprehensible  One,  who  is  thus  dis- 
closed to  us  as  if  by  his  more  immediate  pres- 
ence. We  realize  his  omniscient  eye,  and  stand 
in  awe  under  the  truth  that  he  understandeth 
our  thoughts  afar  off.  We  feel  the  impression 
of  his  holiness,  and  bow  beneath  the  sense  of 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  71 

our  own  depravity  and  guilt.  We  feel  the  in- 
fluence of  his  love,  and  throw  ourselves  upon 
his  mercy.  We  commit  ourselves  to  his  grace 
to  supply  all  our  wants  out  of  his  fulness ;  to 
conduct  us  in  safety  through  the  dangers,  the 
difficulties,  and  the  evils  of  life,  and  to  carry  us 
forward  in  the  course  which  leads  to  eternal 
peace.  Would  we  seek  to  feel  our  own  moral 
condition,  and  to  fix  the  deep  impression  of  an 
inquiry  of  such  eternal  importance,  we  cannot 
use  a  means  of  greater  efficacy  than  putting  it 
into  words  in  the  presence  of  Him  to  whom  it 
is  better  known  than  it  is  to  ourselves.  Is  there 
any  mental  or  moral  habit  which  we  feel  to  have 
acquired  a  mastery  that  puts  in  peril  the  safety 
of  the  soul,  we  cannot  assail  it  in  a  more  effi- 
cient manner  than  by  fully  confessing  it  before 
Him  who  seeth  in  secret,  and  asking  from  him 
a  might  which  alone  is  able  to  rescue  us  from 
its  power.  Such  is  the  province  and  such  the 
efficacy  of  prayer.  It  maintains  our  intercourse 
with  things  which  are  not  seen.  It  is  the  life, 
the  strength,  and  the  nourishment  of  the  soul ; 
and  it  will  be  diligently  cultivated,  not  as  a  mere 
duty  to  be  performed,  but  as  a  means  of  spirit- 
ual life,  by  every  one  who  feels  the  deep  import 


72  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

of  the  truth  that  all  the  graces  of  the  Christian 
character  must  be  founded  upon  and  supported 
by  godliness. 

VL  The  mental  condition  which  has  been 
referred  to  in  the  preceding  observations  does 
not  waste  itself  in  monkish  solitude  or  in  the 
exercise  of  sublime  contemplation.  It  tends  at 
once  to  lead  the  man  who  is  the  subject  of  it 
to  the  relation  in  which  he  stands  to  his  fellow- 
men,  and  to  the  various  important  duties  which 
belong  to  the  situation  in  which  he  is  placed. 
While  it  leads  him  to  seek  after  purity  of  heart, 
it  also  produces  a  character  and  conduct  calcu- 
lated to  promote  the  good  of  others,  the  happi- 
ness and  comfort  of  all  those  with  whom  he 
may  be  brought  into  contact  in  his  passage 
through  this  state  of  trial  and  discipline.  Fol- 
lowing out  this  as  the  natural  or  necessary  result 
of  a  healthy  moral  condition  within,  the  apostle 
next  inculcates  that  to  temperance,  patience, 
and  godliness  is  to  be  added  Brotherly 'kind- 
ness. This  seems  to  include  the  highest  exer- 
cise of  all  those  affections  which  bind  man  to 
his  fellow-men ;  leading  us  to  feel  towards  each 
other  as  brethren,  t(t  study  the  wants  of  others. 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  73: 

to  enter  into  their  feelings,  and,  in  as  far  as  we 
have  power,  to  relieve  their  distresses.  It  tends 
to  pronnote  a  conduct  distinguished  not  only  by 
the  highest  degree  of  integrity,  but  by  habitual 
complaisance,  sympathy,  and  kindness  ;  and  this 
is  not  to  be  regulated  by  the  condition  of  men 
as  to  the  things  of  this  world,  but  by  the  high 
and  broad  principle  that,  whatever  may  be  their 
lot  as  to  external  things,  they  are  the  children 
of  the  same  Almighty  Father  with  ourselves, 
inheriting  the  same  nature,  possessed  of  the 
same  feelings,  and  soon  to  enter  on  the  same 
state  of  external  existence,  when  all  the  dis- 
tinctions which  exist  in  this  world  shall  cease 
for  ever.  It  thus  leads  us  to  bring  ourselves, 
as  it  were,  to  the  same  rank  and  the  same  situ- 
ation with  them,  and,  with  a  brotherly  interest, 
to  view  their  wants  and  their  feelings  as  if  they 
were  our  own.  The  principles  of  conduct  which 
arise  from  this  interchange  of  tender  affections 
are  applicable  to  every  situation  of  life,  and 
to  all  those  exercises  of  justice,  benevolence, 
forbearance,  and  friendship  which  may  be 
called  forth  by  our  various  relations  to  our  fel- 
low-men. It  sets  aside  those  artificial  distinc- 
tions by  which,  on  the  principles  of  the  world, 
G 


74  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

men  are  kept  at  such  a  distance  from  each  oth- 
er; and  it  sets  aside,  what  is  more  powerful 
still,  the  principle  of  selfishness,  by  which  men 
are  made  so  acutely  alive  to  everything  that 
concerns  their  own  wants  and  their  own  feel- 
ings, and  so  cool  in  what  relates  to  the  wants 
and  the  feelings  of  others.  It  goes  farther  siill ; 
for,  according  to  the  sublinnie  maxims  of  the  gos- 
pel, it  teaches  us  even  to  love  our  enemies,  to 
bless  them  that  curse  us,  to  do  good  to  them 
who  despitefully  use  us.  The  benevolence  of 
the  gospel  thus  raises  us  above  the  highest  prin- 
ciples to  which  we  are  led  by  the  mere  feeling 
of  human  kindness;  it  leads  to  do  good  to  the 
evil  and  the  unthankful ;  and  this  is  impressed 
upon  us  by  the  highest  of  all  motives,  the  imi- 
tation of  Him  who  is  the  giver  of  all  good.  Such 
a  character  is  exemplified,  in  the  most  striking 
manner,  in  the  whole  life  of  Him  who,  for  us 
and  for  our  salvation,  humbled  himself  and  be- 
came a  man  of  sorrows.  He  humbled  himself 
that  he  might  mingle  with  mankind;  that  he 
might  enter  into  their  wants;  that  he  might 
know  their  feelings  ;  that,  having  suffered  being 
tempted,  he  might  succour  them  that  are  tempt- 
ed.    He  has  left  us  ati  example  that  we  should 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  75 

follow  his  steps ;  and  he  has  left  us  precise  in- 
structions respecting  the  course  by  which  this 
may  be  dor^e,  and  the  objects  whom  he  has 
specially  committed  to  our  care.  These  arc 
the  hungry,  the  naked,  the  stranger,  the  sick, 
and  the  prisoner.  He  has  even  left  us  the  sol- 
emn intimation  that,  at  the  last  and  great  day 
of  account,  our  moral  condition  will  be  estima- 
ted by  the  actual  influence  which  has  been  ha- 
bitually manifested  on  our  relations  to  our  fel- 
low-men, as  done  from  a  principle  of  love  to 
him  and  of  devotedness  to  his  service.  While 
we  retire,  therefore,  from .  the  influence  of  ex- 
ternal things,  and  devote  ourselves  to  the  high 
undertaking  which  relates  to  the  culture  of  the 
moral  being  within ;  while  we  feel  the  supreme 
importance  of  cultivating  temperance,  patience, 
and  godliness  as  the  qualities  which  are  essen- 
tial to  our  own  moral  condition,  let  us  constantly 
bear  in  mind  that  the  direct  tendency  of  these 
is  to  lead  us  forth  to  our  fellow-men,  to  seek 
them  in  their  hour  of  need,  to  minister  to  their 
wants,  to  relieve  their  distresses,  to  instruct 
the  ignorant,  to  reclaim  the  wanderer,  to  sooth 
the  wounded  spirit.  For  this  exalted  exercise 
wealth  is  not  necessary  ;  the  humblest  of  those 


76  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

who  breathe  the  spirit  of  the  Redeemer  may 
«how  much  kindness  and  do  much  good  to 
others  as  humble  as  themselves. 

But  it  is  not  in  the  abodes  of  poverty  and 
deprivation  alone  that  the  kindly  feelings  of  the 
heart  may  be  called  into  exercise.  In  every 
situation  of  life  we  may  find  openings  for  deeds 
of  kindness.  In  every  rank  and  in  every  re- 
lation this  disposition  will  manifest  itself  by 
gentleness  and  forbearance,  by  leading  us  to 
study  the  feelings  and  consult  the  wants  and 
the  desires  of  others,  whether  superiors,  equals, 
or  dependants  ;  by  repressing  selfishness,  and 
by  producing  the  habit  of  placing  ourselves  in 
the  situation  of  others,  so  as  to  make  their  feel- 
ings and  circumstances  our  own.  Hence  arise 
the  sympathies  and  exertions  of  Christian  friend- 
ship, and  the  habit  of  sacrificing  personal  feel- 
ings and  selfish  interests,  with  all  that  inter- 
change of  the  kindly  affections  which  diffuses 
happiness  and  comfort  wherever  it  is  exercised. 
To  all  such  exercise  of  those  affections  which 
bind  man  to  his  fellow-men,  the  great  principle 
of  Christian  duty  gives  a  strength,  stability,  and 
permanence  which  never  can  arise  from  any 
lower  source.     For  much  active  benevolence 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  77 

may  and  does  arise  from  motives  of  an  inf^or 
kind,  and  from  certain  feelings  of  our  nature 
from  which  there  results  an  actual  and  peculiar 
enjoyment  in  the  discharge  of  offices  of  sympa- 
thy and  kindness.  Much  real  enjoyment  arises 
from  doing  good  to  those  whom  we  esteem  and 
love,  and  from  relieving  the  distresses  of  the 
virtuous  and  worthy.  There  is  an  actual  re- 
ward in  the  return  of  gratitude,  and  in  senti- 
ments of  respect  and  affection  from  those  whom 
we  have  made  to  feel  a  weight  of  obligation 
which  they  cannot  expect  to  repay.  There  is 
something  more  directly  personal  or  selfish  in 
exciting  the  love  and  gratitude  of  those  wha 
may  be  able  to  return  our  kindness,  and  feel 
the^  most  anxious  desire  to  do  so ;  and,  in  re- 
gard to  cases  of  both  descriptions,  there  is  a 
separate  and  peculiar  enjoyment,  or  of  actual 
reward,  in  the  approbation  of  other  men,  espe- 
cially to  those  whom  we  respect,  and  in  the- 
general  sentiments  of  regard  and  esteem  whick 
follow  the  man  who  makes  himself  known  by 
deeds  of  disinterested  and  active  benevolence 
But  the  great  principle  of  Christian  duty  car- 
ries us  farther  and  higher ;  it  calls  upon  us  to. 
do  good  to  the  evil  and  the  unthankful,  and  to. 
G2 


78  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

do  it  in  secret,  looking  not  for  any  return,  wbetli- 
er  of  good  offices,  approbation,  or  gratitude,  but 
sinaply  to  the  love  and  devotedness  which  we 
owe  to  Him  who  is  the  Giver  of  all  good.     This, 
accordingly,  is  the  innportant  distinction  so  stri- 
kingly referred  to  in  the  word  of  God,  "  If  ye 
love  them  that  love  you,  what  reward  have  ye ; 
do  not  even  the  publicans  the  same  1     And  if 
ye  do  good  to  them  which  do  good  to  you,  what 
thanks  have  ye  1  for  sinners  also  do  even  the 
same.     But  I  say  unto  you,  love  your  enemies, 
bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them  that 
hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  which  despite  fully 
use  you  and  persecute  you.     That  ye  may  be 
the  children  of  your  Father  who  is  in  heaven, 
for  he  maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on 
the  good,  and  sendeth  the  rain  on  the  just  and 
on  the  unjust."    Such  is  the  great  principle,  en 
joined  by  the  apostle,  of  brotherly  kindness. 
That  it  may  hold  its  true  place  in  the  economy 
of  a  mind  which  is  under  the  influence  of  faith, 
it  must  arise  from  no  partial  or  selfish  motives, 
no  mere  exercise  of  incidental  feeling,  nothing 
that  has  respect  either  to  our  own  emotions  or 
to  the  opinions  of  other  men.     It  must  be  a 
steady,  consistent  principle,  pure  in  its  origin 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  79 

and  uniform  in  its  influence ;  it  must  be  found- 
ed on  faith  and  knowledge,  and  cherished  by 
temperance,  patience,  and  godliness ;  the  willing 
service  of  filial  affection  ;  a  steady,  persevering 
course  of  active  usefulness,  influenced  simply 
by  the  high  spirit  of  love  and  devotedness  to 
him  who  has  redeemed  us  to  God  by  his  blood. 
Go,  then,  ye  who  profess  to  serve  this  Divine 
Master,  go  and  follow  his  steps.  Deny  your- 
selves the  selfish  indulgences  of  those  who 
know  no  better  portion ;  go  forth  in  search  of 
those  who  are  in  want  of  your  kindness  ;  search 
out  the  hungry,  the  naked,  the  sick,  the  stran- 
ger, the  prisoner;  visit  llie  fatherless  and  the 
widows  in  their  affliction.  Realize  that  eye 
which  follov^s  you  in  all  your  wanderings  among 
the  abodes  of  misery,  disease,  and  suflering. 
Realize  continually  that  high  principle  of  active 
usefulness  which  flows  from  afiection  to  him 
who  died  for  you ;  and  realize  continually  the 
value  which  he  will  assign  to  such  a  course  of 
active  exertion,  not,  indeed,  as  a  ground  of  ac- 
ceptance, but  as  a  test  of  devotedness  and  love ; 
"  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  inasmuch  as  ye  have 
done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  breth- 
ren, ye  have  done  it  unto  me." 


80  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

VII.  The  mere  exercise  of  deeds  of  benevo- 
lence and  kindness  does  not  alone  constitute 
that  character  towards  our  fellow-men  which  is 
the  true  and  proper  result  of  a  sound  moral 
condition.  That  state  of  the  mind  and  of  the 
heart  which  is  founded  on  faith  and  cherished 
by  temperance,  patience,  and  godliness,  will 
extend  its  influence  over  all  those  feelings  and 
affections  which  refer  to  others  in  every  rela- 
tion of  life.  The  condition  of  mind  which  thus 
arises  appears  to  constitute  that  which  the  apos- 
tle inculcates  when  to  brotherly-kiiidness  he 
calls  upon  us  to  add  Charity.  This  must  be 
considered  as  claiming  our  deep  and  serious  at- 
tention, when  it  is  here  given  as  the  finishing 
quality  of  that  character  which  is  founded  upon 
and  maintained  by  an  habitual  principle  of  devo- 
tedness  to  God.  The  feelings  which  are  in- 
cluded under  it  are  enumerated  by  the  apostle 
Paul,  and  are  by  him  referred  to  the  following 
heads.     (1  Cor.  xiii.) 

1.  It  suffer eth  long,  and  is  kind.  It  exer- 
cises candour,  indulgence,  and  forbearance  in  re- 
gard to  the  conduct  of  others,  entering  into  their 
feelings  with  gentleness  and  kindness,  and  ma- 


CHRISTIAN   CHARACTER.  81 

king  every  allowance  for  the  circumstances  in 
which  they  are  placed,  and  the  nnotives  and 
feelings  by  which  they  are  influenced.  This 
disposition  prevents  us  from  hastily  assigning 
unworthy  motives  or  bad  intentions  ;  it  induces 
us  to  take  the  most  favourable  view  that  we 
possibly  can  of  the  conduct  of  other  men,  and, 
even  when  appearances  are  against  them,  to  en- 
deavour anxiously  to  discover  favourable  views 
and  palliating  circumstances.  It  thus  leads  us 
to  be  slow  to  take  offence,  to  be  unwilling  to 
consider  injuries  as  intended,  to  be  above  ta- 
king offence  at  trifles,  and, under  real  injuries, 
to  be  easily  conciliated  and  ready  to  forgive. 
This  temperament  of  the  mind  is  strikingly 
contrasted  with  one  which  we  find  so  common 
in  the  world — envious,  suspicious,  and  censo- 
rious— ready  to  be  offended  by  trifles,  to  con- 
strue accidental  circumstances  into  intended  in- 
sults, and  to  impute  to  others  bad  intentions  on 
the  most  frivolous  grounds.  Such  a  disposition 
is  a  source  of  wretchedness  to  those  who  are 
under  its  power,  and  of  unhappiness  to  all  with 
whom  they  are  connected ;  and  we  cannot  sur- 
vey the  distress  which  arises  from  ill-regulated 
temper  without  perceiving  how  much  the  pres- 


82  CHRISTIAN    FAITH   AND 

ent  happiness  of  men  would  be  increased  by 
the  exercise  of  that  charity  which  sufFereth 
long  and  is  kind. 

The  kindness  which  is  here  associated  with 
long-suffering  seems  to  be  distinct  from  the  ex- 
ercises of  benevolence  referred  to  under  the 
former  division  of  the  subject.  It  appears  to 
imply  more  particularly  a  tender  regard  to  the 
feelings  of  others,  which  makes  us  studious  to 
avoid  wounding  them  by  jealousies  and  suspi- 
cions, by  peevishness  or  fretfulness,  and  by  al- 
lowing trifles  to  ruffle  the  temper  and  disturb 
the  social  harmony.  Many  who  are  not  defi- 
cient in  deeds  of  benevolence  or  friendship  are 
apt  to  forget  how  much  the  exercise  of  true 
kindness  consists  in  gentleness,  meekness,  and 
tender  consideration  for  the  feelings  of  others ; 
and  it  is  melancholy  to  observe  how  much  real 
unhappiness  often  exists  in  families  and  in  com- 
munities which  would  be  effectually  prevented 
by  the  Christian  grace  of  kindness. 

2.  Charity  envieth  not.  Envy  looks  with 
displeasure  on  the  real  or  imagined  happiness 
of  others,  leading  men  to  compare  their  own 
situation  with  that  of  their  neighbours,  and  to 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  83 

covet  Circumstances  in  their  lot  which  seem  to 
render  it  happier  than  their  own.  It  is  thus 
founded  on  discontent,  a  state  of  mind  decidedly 
opposed  to  sound  Christian  feeling;  for  this 
teaches  us  to  consider  our  lot,  in  all  its  circum- 
stances, as  assigned  to  us  by  the  Great  Disposer 
of  all  things,  and  precisely  adapted  to  the  place 
which  it  is  his  pleasure  we  shall  hold  in  this 
state  of  moral  discipline.  Envy,  therefore,  is 
not  only  injurious  to  a  sound  state  of  feeling  to- 
wards other  men,  but  is  also  destructive  of  our 
own  moral  culture  ;  for  it  tends  to  withdraw 
our  attention  from  our  actual  condition  as  re- 
sponsible beings,  leading  us  to  forget,  amid 
fruitless  longings  afler  imagined  good,  the  high 
responsibilities  which  pertain  to  our  own  con- 
dition, and  thus  waste  the  precious  hours  which 
are  given  us  to  prepare  for  the  life  which  is  to 
come.  Christian  charity,  therefore,  teaches  us 
to  rejoice  in  the  good  of  others  ;  in  their  hap- 
piness, their  honour,  and  their  reputation.  It 
is  opposed  to  detraction,  and  leads  us  to  allow 
to  other  men,  though  rivals  or  even  enemies, 
all  praise,  honour,  and  reputation  that  are  justly 
due  to  them ;  to  avoid  everything  calculated  to 
injure  their  good  name  or  to  lower  them  in  the 


84  CHRISTIAN  FAITH    AND 

public  estimation,  and  to  defend  them  against 
such  attempts  when  we  find  them  made  by 
others. 

3.  In  the  exercise  of  that  correct  state  of 
moral  feeling  which  we  owe  to  other  men,  we 
are  very  much  impeded  by  the  false  and  exag- 
gerated views  which  we  are  apt  to  form  of  our 
own  importance,  and  the  undue  weight  which 
we  attach  to  our  own  feelings.  In  opposition 
to  this,  Christian  charity  leads  us  to  view  our- 
selves with  humility,  and  this  naturally  induces 
us  to  view  others  with  indulgence,  candour,  and 
justice.  Accordingly,  the  apostle  adds,  "  Char- 
ity vaunteth  not  itself;  is  not  puffed  up^  The 
immediate  and  natural  result  of  this  humble, 
calm,  and  considerate  view  of  our  own  condi- 
tion and  our  own  feelings  in  reference  to  those 
of  other  men,  is  a  general  propriety  and  deco- 
rum of  behaviour  towards  them  ;  "  doth  not  be- 
have itself  unseemly. ^^  A  man  acting  under  the 
influence  of  this  law  of  Christian  charity  con- 
ducts himself  with  a  correct  and  judicious  re- 
gard to  the  situation  of  life  in  which  he  is  placed; 
he  does  not  push  himself  into  notice  or  prefer 
himself  to  others ;  but  is,  in  all  circumstances 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  85 

of  life,  to  his  superiors  respectful,  to  his  equals 
accommodating  and  courteous,  to  his  inferiors 
kind,  gentle,  and  considerate.  He  is  thus  pre- 
served from  those  improprieties  and  absurdities 
of  conduct  into  which  men  are  led  by  pride  and 
vanity,  putting  themselves  out  of  their  proper 
place,  and  losing  sight  of  the  proprieties  of  con- 
duct adapted  to  their  situation  ;  involving  them- 
selves with  matters  in  which  they  have  no  con- 
cern ;  and,  by  a  disposition  restless,  meddling, 
and  conceited,  at  once  destroying  their  own 
peace  and  injuring  the  peace  of  others. 

4.  The  propensity  in  human  nature  which 
has  the  chief  influence  in  separating  man  from 
man,  and  disturbing  all  the  harmonies  of  life,  is 
Selfishness,  By  one  device  or  another  men  are 
ever  seeking  to  promote  their  own  interest,  their 
own  gratification,  their  own  ease,  reputation,  or 
distinction.  Hence  arise  the  jealousies,  suspi- 
cions, and  envies  with  which  they  view  those 
who  are  likely  to  interfere  with  them  in  their 
favourite  pursuits,  and  those  who  in  similar  pur- 
suits have  been  more  fortunate  than  themselves. 
Christian  charity  strikes  at  the  root  of  this  pro- 
pensity, so  wide  in  its  extent,  so  destructive  in 
H 


86  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

its  influence ;  "  charity  seeketh  not  her  own^ 
It  would  lead  us  into  a  field  far  too  extensive 
for  our  present  purpose  were  we  to  endeavour 
to  trace  the  manner  in  which  selfishness  enters 
into  all  our  pursuits,  and  the  extent  to  which  it 
interferes  with  that  spirit  of  kindness  to  our  fel- 
low-men to  which  so  much  importance  is  at- 
tached in  the  great  practical  rules  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ.  Every  one  has  only  to  watch  mi- 
nutely his  own  conduct  to  discover  in  how 
many  instances  a  regard  to  his  own  interest, 
comfort,  or  distinction  interferes  with  the  kindly 
feelings  and  the  offices  ol  kindness  which  he 
owes  to  others ;  how  often  he  is  prevented  by 
mere  indolence,  or  a  selfish  regard  to  his  own 
ease,  from  doing  good  in  various  ways  which 
would  cost  him  nothing  but  a  little  exertion; 
how  often  a  regard  to  his  own  feelings  inter- 
feres with  what  is  due  to  the  feelings  of  other 
men ;  and  how  different  the  conduct  of  all  of 
us  would  very  often  be  did  we  deliberately 
place  ourselves  in  the  situation  of  others,  and 
calmly  view  their  circumstances  and  their  feel- 
ings, as  if  they  were  in  our  situation  and  we  in 
theirs.  There  is  not,  in  the  high  requirements 
of  the  gospel,  a  principle  of  more  essential  im- 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  87 

portance  than  this.  When  our  Lord  says,  "  if 
any  man  will  be  my  disciple,  let  him  deny  him- 
self," he  calls  us  not  to  mortifications  or  austeri- 
ties calculated  only  to  inflict  suffering  on"  our- 
selves ;  but  he  calls  us,  and  calls  us  "  as  one 
having  authority,"  to  renounce  all  those  selfish 
indulgences  and  selfish  humours,  and  that  pur- 
suit of  selfish  interest,  which  interfere  with  the 
zealous  and  extensive  exertions  for  the  comfort 
and  the  good  of  others,  to  which  he  attaches  so 
important  a  place  as  a  test  of  our  affection  to  him 
and  our  devotedness  to  his  service.  In  such  a 
coarse  he  has  left  us  a  bright  example,  and  he 
calls  us  to  follow  his  steps.  He  calls  us  to  en- 
ter with  kindly  interest  into  the  wants  and  feel- 
ings of  our  brethren,  and,  in  many  instances,  to 
sacrifice  our  own  interest,  ease,  indulgence,  and 
inclinations  to  theirs.  By  the  high  sanction  of 
his  own  example  we  are  exhorted  to  have  the 
same  mind  in  us  which  was  also  in  him ;  and 
this  exhortation  is  enforced  by  the  solemn  de- 
nunciation, that  "  if  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit 
of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his." 

5.  The  mind  that  is  under  the  influence  of 
Christian  charity  "  is  not  easily  provoked,  and 


88  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

it  thinketh  no  evilP  Like  its  Divine  Master,  it 
is  meek  and  lowly,  not  apt  to  be  offended  by 
trifles,  and,  under  real  injuries,  patient  and  for- 
giving. It  is  slow  and  cautious  in  forming  an 
unfavourable  opinion  of  others,  or  in  imputing 
to  them  bad  designs  or  bad  intentions ;  and, 
consequently,  it  is  not  apt,  as  so  many  are, 
to  conjure  up  to  itself  imaginary  injuries  and 
imaginary  enemies.  That  mental  condition 
which  we  usually  distinguish  by  the  name 
meekness,  quietness,  and  magnanimity  of  mind, 
is  equally  conducive  to  a  man's  own  comfort 
and  to  the  sound  state  of  his  moral  feelings  to- 
wards other  men.  It  carries  with  it  its  own  re- 
ward in  the  tranquillity  which  it  brings  to  us  in 
our  passage  through  this  scene  of  tumult  and 
strife.  While  it  is  peculiarly  favourable  to  the 
culture  of  the  moral  being,  it  tends  also  to  pre- 
serve from  numerous  evils,  mortifications,  and 
distractions  to  which  the  opposite  character  ex- 
poses. "  Learn  of  me,"  says  our  Lord,  '*  for  I 
am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart,  and^ye  shall  find 
rest  to  your  souls." 

6.  This  catalogue  of  Christian  graces  is  stri 
kingly  concluded  by  a  reference  to  that  great 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  89 

and  broad  principle  of  Christian  feeling  which 
lies,  in  a  great  nneasure,  at  the  foundation  of  the 
whole  :  "  charity  rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity,  hut 
rejoiceth  in  the  truth.^^  Viewing  himself  and 
all  around  him  as  immortal  beings  in  their  pas- 
sage to  an  eternal  world,  the  man  of  charity  has 
for  his  first  and  great  anxiety  respecting  his  fel- 
low-men to  see  them  walking  in  the  truth ;  to 
find  among  them  the  culture  of  those  qualities 
which  mark  the  healthy  condition  of  the  moral 
being,  and  its  preparation  for  the  solemn  reali- 
ties of  an  eternal  world.  When  brought  into 
comparison  with  those  great  concerns,  all  pres- 
ent things  sink  into  insignificance.  He  can  de- 
rive, therefore,  no  satisfaction  from  moral  evil, 
even  though  it  may  contribute  to  his  own  bene- 
fit, as,  in  the  transactions  of  life,  it  may  often 
do.  For  how  often  may  it  happen  that  we  de 
rive  advantage  from  the  misconduct  of  rivals, 
and  may  be  tempted  to  feel  a  secret  satisfaction 
at  the  loss  of  character  on  the  part  of  those  who, 
perhaps,  have  stood  in  the  way  of  our  favourite 
pursuits,  either  of  interest,  reputation,  or  com- 
fort. How  often  might  we  turn  to  our  advan- 
tage the  quarrels  of  others,  and  thus  be  tempted 
to  foster  rather  than  to  heed  the  feelings  from 
H2 


90  CHRISTIAN   FAITH    AND 

which  they  arose.  But  whatever  personal  ben- 
efit we  might  derive  from  it,  the  man  of  charity 
cannot  view  with  satisfaction  what  is  displeas- 
ing to  God  or  destructive  of  the  moral  condi- 
tion of  an  immortal  being,  and  he  will  gladly 
sacrifice  his  own  present  feelings  and  present 
advantage  for  the  high  achievement  of  rescu- 
ing a  soul  from  death.  In  this  great  object  he 
will  exert  himself  to  instruct  the  ignorant,  to 
reclaim  the  vicious,  to  win  even  his  enemies 
by  deeds  of  kindness,  to  prevent  differences,  to 
heal  divisions,  and  to  bring  together  as  brethren 
those  who  have  assumed  the  attitude  of  hatred 
and  defiance.  Feeling  in  himself  all  the  su- 
preme importance  of  '*  things  not  seen,"  it  will 
be  his  habitual  and  earnest  desire  to  promote 
among  all  around  him  a  character  and  conduct 
governed  by  a  sense  of  the  overwhelming  inter- 
est of  a  life  that  is  to  come. 

7.  The  enumeration  of  those  qualities  of  the 
mind  which  constitute  Christian  charity  is  re- 
capitulated by  the  apostle  in  four  expressions 
of  a  most  comprehensive  character ;  "  it  heareih 
all  things;  believeth  all  things;  hopeih  all 
things;    endureth  all  things.'*^     The  first  of 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  91 

these  expressions  would  have  been  more  prop- 
erly rendered,  "  coverelh  all  things  ;"  and,  when 
they  are  taken  together,  they  display  in  a  few 
words  the  great  peculiarities  of  that  conduct 
and  character  towards  our  fellow-men  which 
ought  to  arise  out  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  The 
man  who  is  under  its  influence  seeks  to  cover 
the  faults  of  other  men,  to  defend  them  against 
misrepresentation  of  calumny,  and,  in  all  his  re- 
lations towards  men,  to  treat  them  with  meek- 
ness, forbearance,  and  kindness.  He  is  dis- 
posed to  form  the  most  favourable  opinion  of 
others  that  circumstances  will  at  all  allow  ;  and, 
when  personally  injured,  to  give  the  utmost 
possible  weight  to  concessions  or  explanations  ; 
to  be  easily  conciliated  and  ready  to  forgive. 
This  justice  and  indulgence  which  he  appHes  to 
the  conduct  of  men  he  extends  also  to  their 
opinions,  giving  to  their  sentiments  and  state- 
ments a  fair,  calm,  and  attentive  hearing,  and 
judging  them  with  impartiality  and  candour. 
Farther,  in  regard  to  the  character  of  other  men, 
he  does  not,  without  great  cause,  depart  from 
the  favourable  opinion  of  what  may  be  done 
for  their  improvement,  but  takes  advantage  of 
every  hopeful  cii«cumstance,  and  is  thereby  en- 


92  CHRISTIAN    FAITH   AND 

couraged  to  persevere  in  his  efforts  to  do  ihem 
good.  In  the  prosecution  of  this  high  design 
he  puts  up  with  much  waywardness,  absurdity, 
and  folly  on  the  part  of  those  whom  he  seeks 
to  benefit,  not  considering  his  own  comfort  or 
honour,  but  the  great  object  which  he  has  in 
view  in  the  good  of  others ;  and  in  this  he  per- 
severes with  constancy,  however  unpromising 
the  circumstances  may  appear  as  to  his  ultimate 
success,  or  however  unproductive  of  comfort  to 
himself  in  the  prosecution  of  them. 

Such,  then,  is  the  exercise  of  the  kindly  feel- 
ings towards  our  fellow-men  which  is  repre- 
sented as  indispensable  to  that  chatacter  which 
is  founded  on  faith,  virtue,  and  knowledge,  and 
cherished  by  temperance,  patience,  and  godli- 
ness. The  importance  attached  to  it  in  the 
word  of  God  cannot  be  represented  more  stri- 
kingly than  in  the  words  of  the  apostle,  where 
he  teaches  us  that  without  it  knowledge  is  vain 
and  faith  is  barren ;  and  that  all  acquirements 
and  endowments,  however  high  their  preten- 
sions, are  but  an  empty  sound,  which  can  never 
profit.  "  Though  I  speak  with  the  tongues  of 
men  and  of  angels,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am 
become  as  sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling  cymbal. 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  93 

And  though  I  have  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and 
understand  all  mysteries  and  all  knowledge ; 
and  though  I  have  all  faith,  so  that  I  could  re- 
move mountains,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am 
nothing.  And  though  I  bestow  all  my  goods  to 
feed  the  poor,  and  though  I  give  my  body  to  be 
burned,  and  have  not  charity,  it  profiteth  me  no- 
thing  And  now  abideth  faith,  hope, 

charity,  these  three,  but  the  greatest  of  these  is 
Charity." 

The  whole  subject,  thus  briefly  and  imper- 
fectly delineated,  is  full  of  important  instruction, 
which,  in  an  especial  manner,  claims  the  atten- 
tion of  two  descriptions  of  persons. 

I.  Are  there  those  who  maintain  that  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Gospel  are  unfavourable  to  morali- 
ty, because  they  offer  acceptance  in  the  sight  of 
God  to  faith  alone  ?  Let  such  put  away  from 
them  those  flimsy  and  distorted  conceptions  of 
Christian  truth  by  which  they  voluntarily  de- 
lude themselves.  Let  them  look  at  the  record 
of  God  in  all  its  harmony  and  consistency,  in 
all  its  extent  and  all  its  purity.  Let  them  see 
it  requiring  a  higher  tone  of  morals  than  ever 


94  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

was  contemplated  in  the  most  exalted  of  human 
standards  ;  let  them  see  it  enjoining  as  an  indis- 
pensable part  of  Christian  morality  all  those  dis- 
positions and  actions  towards  our  fellow-men 
which  are  included  under  the  comprehensive 
terms  of  brotherly  kindness  and  charity.  Let 
them  contemplate  it  as  extending  its  high  and 
pure  requirements  even  to  the  thoughts,  desires, 
and  inclinations  of  the  heart,  and  demanding 
purity  within.  Let  them  consider  calmly  and 
deliberately  these  important  truths,  and  say,  as 
candid  and  honest  men,  what  estimate  they  form 
of  the  morality  of  the  gospel. 

IL  Let  those  who  profess  to  be  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  truths  which  are  the  objects  of 
faith  see  that  they  truly  feel  and  really  mani- 
fest their  power.  It  is  easy  to  assume  Ihe 
phraseology  of  religion  ;  it  is  easy  to  acquire  a 
knowledge  of  its  doctrines,  and  to  argue  acute- 
ly and  ingeniously  on  points  of  faith.  It  is  not 
difficult  to  practise  with  decorum  its  rites  and 
forms,  to  observe  its  ordinances,  and  to  show 
all  that  zeal  for  the  externals  of  religion  by 
which  a  man  acquires  a  certain  character  among 
his  fcUow-men.    It  is  easy,  also,  to  those  who 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  95 

have  ihe  means,  and  it  is  gratifying  to  feelings 
which  exist  in  the  generality  .of  mankind,  to 
practise  much  benevolence,  and  to  show  much 
real  concern  for  alleviating  the  distresses  of 
other  men.  But  much  of  all  this,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  may  and  does  exist,  while  there  is  none 
of  that  discipline  of  the  heart  without  which 
knowledge  is  vain  and  faith  an  empty  name. 
It  is  to  the  heart  that  the  eye  of  Him  looketh 
who  cannot  be  deceived  by  external  things; 
and  it  is  when  a  man  reiires  from  all  consider- 
ation of  the  opinions  of  his  fellow-men,  and  looks 
seriously  into  those  processes  of  his  mind  wliich 
are  open  to  the  Divine  inspection ;  it  is  then 
ihat  he  may  discover  his  own  moral  condition, 
and  may  learn,  if  he  seriously  wishes  to  know 
the  solemn  truth,  what  he  really  is  in  the  eye 
of  God.  JjCt  him  inquire  what  is  the  habitual 
current  of  his  thoughts  ;  what  the  prevailing  ob- 
ject of  his  desires ;  what  the  governing  motives 
of  his  conduct ;  what  place  among  them  have 
the  things  of  time,  and  what  the  things  of  eter- 
nity ;  what  influence  have  the  motives  and  prin- 
ciples of  the  world,  and  what  the  great  princi- 
ple of  dcvotedness  to  God.  It  is  thus  that  he 
may  icarn  those  "  secrets  of  the  heart"  which 


96  CHRISTIAN    FAITH    AND 

at  present  are  hidden  from  all  hunaan  eyes,  but 
will  be  fully  revealed  at  the  great  day  of  account, 
and  rigidly  tried  by  the  pure  and  holy  standard 
of  the  law  of  God.  The  important  truth,  there- 
fore, cannot  be  too  often  or  too  seriously  con- 
templated by  every  one  who  feels  the  over- 
whelming interest  of  eternal  things,  that,  what- 
ever be  his  faith  and  whatever  his  knowledge ; 
whatever  be  his  character  in  the  eye  of  man, 
and  whatever  his  real  and  active  usefulness  to 
others,  there  is  a  distinct  and  most  serious  ob- 
ject of  attention  which  immediately  concerns 
the  safety  of  the  soul ;  and  this  is,  that,  while 
he  cultivates  faith  and  knowledge,  he  shall  give 
all  diligence  to  add  temperance,  patience,  and 
godliness.  Without  these,  while  he  greatly  ben- 
efits others,  he  may  inflict  irreparable  injury  on 
himself;  amid  many  good  works,  he  may  neg- 
lect that  discipline  of  the  heart  in  which  is  in- 
volved his  own  safety  as  a  moral  being. 

But,  while  this  first  and  great  concern  receives 
'  the  attention  which  it  demands  from  every  im- 
mortal being,  let  it  never  be  forgotten  that  there 
is  a  fatal  error  in  the  mental  economy  unless 
the  fruits  are  manifest  in  every  part  of  the  con- 
duct and  character.    In  this  respect  the  high 


CHRISTIAN    CHARACTER.  97 

principle  bf  Christian  faith  ought  to  maintain  its 
superiority  over  all  other  nnotives  and  princi- 
ples, however  honourable  these  may  be  in  them- 
selves. The  great  question  to  those  who  pro- 
fess to  be  under  its  power  is,  **  What  do  ye  more 
than  others  ?"  Are  there  men  who,  from  kind- 
ness of  natural  feeling,  or  those  principles  of 
honour  and  integrity  which  prevail  in  the  world, 
perform  many  deeds  of  exalted  integrity,  benev- 
olence, or  kindness?  the  man  of  faith  must 
do  more.  Are  there  those  who,  on  such  prin- 
ciples, show  much  mildness,  forbearance,  and 
forgiveness?  the  man  of  faith  must  do  more. 
It  is  vain  to  talk  of  faith  and  godliness  while 
an  inconsistent  conduct,  a  contracted  selfish- 
ness, or  an  unsubdued  temper  gives  the  empty 
profession  the  lie.  When  the  great  principle 
really  exists  within,  it  will  be  manifest  by  its 
fruits ;  and  when  it  is  thus  exhibited  in  all  its 
consistency  and  all  its  power,  it  is  then  that  it 
challenges  the  conviction  of  those  who  oppose 
themselves,  and  compels  them  to  acknowledge 
its  reality  and  its  truth,  and  to  "  glorify  our  Fa- 
ther who  is  in  heaven." 
I 


m^ 


CULTURE   AND   DISCIPLINE 


THE  MIND. 


ADDRESSED   TO   THE   YOUNG. 


The  substance  of  the  following  Essay  was  originally 
published  as  a  Rectorial  Address,  delivered  in  Marischal 
Coilege,  Aberdeen,  and  it  was  printed  by  desire  of  the 
Senatus  Academicus.  It  is  now  republished,  with  con- 
siderable enlargement  in  the  practical  parts,  and  with 
the  oniission  of  those  observations  which  had  an  iniiXie- 
diate  reference  to  the  place  and  the  circumstances  in 
which  it  was  delivered. 
Edinburgh,  December,  1836 


CULTURE  AND  DISCIPLINE 

OP 

THE    MIND. 


If  we  are  asked  what  constitutes  the  great- 
est difference  between  one  man  and  another, 
considered  either  as  intellectual  or  as  moral  be- 
ings, we  cannot  hesitate  to  answer,  the  culture 
and  the  discipline  of  the  mind.  Under  the  in- 
fluence of  those  external  things  by  which  we 
are  so  habitually  occupied,  our  consideration  is 
too  little  directed  to  the  wondrous  essence  of 
which  we  are  conscious  within.  But  when  we 
turn  our  serious  attention  to  the  economy  of 
the  mind,  we  perceive  that  it  is  capable  of  a 
variety  of  processes,  of  the  most  remarkable 
and  most  important  nature.  We  find,  also, 
that  we  can  exert  a  voluntary  power  over  these 
processes,  by  which  we  control,  direct,  and  reg- 
ulate them  at  our  will ;  and  that,  when  we  do 
12 


102  CULTURE   AND   DISCIPLINE 

not  exert  this  power,  the  mind  is  left  to  the  in- 
fluence of  external  impressions  or  casual  trains 
of  association,  often  unprofitable  and  often  friv- 
olous. We  thus  discover  that  the  mind  is  the 
subject  of  culture  and  of  discipline,  which,  when 
duly  exercised,  must  produce  the  most  impor- 
tant results  on  our  condition  as  rational  and 
moral  beings;  and  that  the  exercise  of  them 
involves  a  responsibility  of  the  most  solemn 
kind,  which  no  man  can  possibly  put  away  from 
him. 

Youth  is  the  season  peculiarly  adapted  for 
this  great  undertaking,  while  the  attention  is 
not  yet  engrossed  by  the  distractions  of  active 
life,  and  while  those  injurious  habits  have  not 
yet  been  formed  which  are  so  often  fatal  to  the 
health  of  the  mind.  Allow  me,  then,  to  direct 
your  earnest  attention  to  this  high  concern,  the 
highest  and  the  most  important  that  can  engage 
your  anxious  care.  While  life  is  opening  be- 
fore you  with  all  its  fair  prospects  and  all  its 
promises  of  happiness,  learn  to  feel  the  supreme 
interest  of  the  discipline  of  the  mind ;  study  the 
remarkable  power  which  you  can  exercise  over 
its  habits  of  attention  and  its  trains  of  thought ; 
and  cultivate  a  sense  of  the  deep  importance  of 


OP   THE    MIND.  103 

exercising  this  power  according  to  the  principles 
of  wisdom  and  of  virtue. 

You  are  at  present  eagerly  engaged  in  pros- 
ecuting useful  and  important  acquirements  in 
various  branches  of  knowledge,  but  all  that  is 
furnished  by  early  study  gives  only  the  elements 
for  forming  the  mind,  and  for  gradually  training 
it  to  that  intellectual  vigour  and  moral  discipline 
by  which  it  may  be  prepared  for  farther  and 
greater  pursuits.  While,  therefore,  you  prose- 
cute with  ardour  the  various  departments  of  sci- 
ence, you  will  remember  that  a  higher  and 
more  extended  object  is  still  before  you.  You 
will  feel  the  necessity  of  rising  above  the  de- 
tails of  individual  sciences,  to  those  results 
to  which  all  science  ought  to  combine  in  lead- 
ing us,  the  culture  of  understanding  itself,  and 
the  practical  application  of  those  rules  by  which 
the  mind  may  be  directed  towards  the  discovery 
of  truth,  and  by  which  the  truth  so  discovered 
may  be  applied  to  the  actual  duties  and  respon- 
sibilities of  life.  You  will  learn  to  estimate  the 
value  of  that  greatest  of  all  acquirements,  a 
well-regulated  mind,  and  to  study  with  anxious 

are  what  those  qualities  are  which  constitute 


104  CULTURE    AND   DISCIPLINE 

such  a  mind,  and  what  are  the  particular  pur- 
suits, and  the  mode  of  conducting  them,  which 
are  best  adapted  for  the  high  attainment.  You 
will  learn  to  estimate  the  benefits  which  arise 
from  such  a  regulation  of  the  mind  ;  to  see  how, 
in  every  inquiry,  it  tends  to  conduct  us  to  truth  ; 
how  it  leads  the  mind  to  apply  itself  to  various 
pursuits  with  a  degree  of  attention  adapted  to 
their  real  value,  and  to  follow  out  the  inductions 
of  each  to  its  last  and  highest  object,  the  cul- 
ture of  the  moral  being.  ^ 

Amid  the  most  zealous  prosecution  of  knowl- 
edge, you  will  learn  to  press  forward  to  those 
great  and  ultimate  truths  by  which  science 
ought  to  lead  us  to  the  Omnipotent  and  Eternal 
Cause.  Philosophy  fails  of  its  noblest  object 
if  it  does  not  lead  us  to  God ;  and,  whatever 
may  be  its  pretensions,  that  is  unworthy  of  the 
name  of  science  which  professes  to  trace  the 
sequences  of  nature,  and  yet  fails  to  discover, 
as  if  marked  by  a  sunbeam,  the  mighty  hand 
which  arranged  them  all ;  which  fails  to  bow  in 
humble  adoration  before  the  power  and  wisdom, 
the  harmony  and  beauty,  which  pervade  all  the 
works  of  Him  who  is  Eternal. 

Judging  upon  these  principles,  we  are  taught 


OF   THE    MIKD.  105 

to  feel  that  life  has  a  value  beyond  the  mere  ac- 
quirement of  knowledge  and  the  mere  prosecu- 
tion of  our  own  happiness.  This  value  is  found 
in  those  nobler  pursuits  which  qualify  us  for 
promoting  the  good  of  others,  and  in  those  ac- 
quirements by  which  we  learn  to  become  mas- 
ters of  ourselves.  It  is  to  cultivate  the  intel- 
lectual part  of  the  attainment  of  truth,  and  to 
train  the  moral  being  for  the  solemn  purposes 
of  life,  when  life  is  viewed  in  its  relation  to  a 
life  which  is  to  come.  These  exalted  pursuits 
are  not  more  conducive  to  the  great  objects 
which  are  presented  to  us  as  moral  and  responsi- 
ble beings,  than  they  are  calculated  to  promote 
our  own  happiness  and  peace.  Constituted  as 
we  are,  indeed,  and  placed  in  certain  relations  to 
objects  of  sense  and  to  other  sentient  beings, 
we  are  in  some  degree  under  the  influence  of 
external  things.  But  the  powers  which  wield 
the  destiny  of  our  happiness  are  chiefly  within. 
It  is  there  that  we  trace  the  elements  of  those 
noble  faculties  which,  if  duly  cultivated,  se- 
cure at  once  our  usefulness  and  our  happiness; 
and  it  is  there  that  we  find  the  germes  of  those 
vulture  passions  whose  dominion  is  worse  than 
Eastern  bondage,  and  under  whose  relentless 


106  CULTURE    AND    DISCIPLINE 

tyranny  a  nnan  who  is  master  of  the  world  may 
be  himself  a  slave.  In  the  conquest  of  these 
consists  the  highest  dignity  of  our  nature,  and 
in  the  control  and  subjugation  of  them  is  our 
only  solid  peace. 

Among  the  phenomena  presented  by  human 
character,  none  will  strike  you  as  more  remark- 
able than  the  various  objects  which  men  pro 
pose  to  themselves  in  life.  In  all,  a  certain 
vision  of  happiness  seems  to  float  over  the 
scene ;  but  how  various  are  the  courses  by 
which  the  phantom  is  pursued,  and  how  many 
enter  upon  the  pursuit  without  proposing  to 
themselves  any  definite  course  at  all.  They 
never  seem  distinctly  to  put  to  themselves  the 
question  in  what  the  imagined  enjoyment  con- 
sists, and  what  are  the  elements  by  which  it  is 
constituted.  One  expects  to  find  it  in  wealth, 
another  in  power,  a  third  in  rank,  a  fourth  in 
fame,  while  not  a  few  are  found  to  seek  it  in  a 
mere  round  of  excitement,  perishing  with  the 
hour  which  gave  it  birth.  Thus  a  large  propor- 
tion of  mankind  pass  through  life  pursuing  an 
imagined  good  which  too  often  eludes  their 
grasp,  or  which,  even  after  it  has  been  attained. 


OF    THE    MIND.  107 

is  found  incapable  of  giving  satisfaction.  They 
live  upon  the  opinions  of  other  men,  and  are 
thus  left  at  the  mercy  of  a  thousand  external 
circumstances,  by  which  the  good  they  had 
so  long  pursued  is  blasted  in  the  enjoyment. 
They  enter  upon  life  without  forming  any  def- 
inite conception  of  what  the  great  business  of 
life  ought  to  be ;  and,  when  they  perceive  that 
it  is  drawing  to  a  close,  they  look  back  with  as- 
tonishment to  find  that  it  has  passed  over  them 
like  a  dream ;  that  they  cannot  say  for  what 
purpose  they  have  lived,  or,  perhaps,  are  com- 
pelled to  acknowledge  that  they  have  lived  in 
vain. 

But  life  presents  another  aspect  when  we 
view  it  as  a  scene  of  moral  discipline ;  when 
we  look  not  at  its  pains  and  its  pleasures,  but 
Its  high  duties  and  its  solemn  responsibilities ; 
and  at  the  discipline  of  the  heart,  from  which 
springs  a  true  and  solid  happiness  which  exter- 
nal circumstances  cannot  destroy.  All  then  is 
defined  and  clear.  The  object  is  definite,  and 
the  way  to  it  is  marked  as  by  a  light  from  heav- 
en. Each  step  that  is  gained  is  felt  to  be  a 
real  and  solid  acquirement,  and  each  imparts  a 
sense  of  moral  health,  which  strengthens  eveiy 


108  CLLTIRE    AND    DISCIPLINE 

principle  within  for  farther  progress.  I  know 
that  I  carry  your  best  feelings  along  with  me 
when  I  thus  call  your  attention  to  that  course  of 
life  which  alone  is  adapted  to  its  real  and  sol- 
emn importance,  which  alone  is  worthy  of  those 
powers  of  our  intellectual  and  moral  nature 
with  which  we  have  been  endowed  by  Him  who 
formed  us.  In  the  culture  of  these  is  involved 
not  only  a  duty  and  a  responsibility,  but  a  source 
of  the  purest  and  the  most  refined  enjoyment. 
For  there  is  a  power  which  is  calculated  to  car- 
ry a  man  through  life  without  being  the  sport 
and  the  victim  of  every  change  that  flits  across 
the  scene  ;  this  power  resides  in  a  sound  moral 
discipline  and  a  well-regulated  mind. 

The  foundation  of  all  mental  discipline,  in  the 
words  of  an  eminent  writer,*  consists  in  the 
"  power  of  mastering  the  mind."  It  is  in  hav- 
ing the  intellectual  processes  under  due  regula- 
tion and  control,  and  being  thus  able  to  direct 
them,  upon  sound  and  steady  principles,  to  the 
acquisition  of  useful  knowledge  and  the  dis- 
covery of  truth.  Here  we  are,  in  the  first  place, 
reminded  of  that  remarkable  power  which  we 
possess  over  the  succession  of  our  thougto. 

*  M.  Degerando. 


OP   THE    MIND»  109 

We  can  direct  the  thoughts  to  any  subject  we 
please,  and  can  keep  them  directed  to  it  with 
steady  and  continuous  attention.  In  the  due 
culture  of  this  power  consists  a  point  in  mental 
discipline  of  primary  and  essential  importance. 
By  the  neglect  of  such  culture,  the  mind  is  al- 
lowed to  run  to  waste  amid  the  trifles  of  the 
passing  hour,  or  is  left  the  sport  of  waking 
dreams  and  vain  delusions  entirely  unworthy 
of  its  high  destiny.  There  is  not  a  greater 
source  of  difference  between  one  man  and  an- 
other than  in  the  manner  in  which  they  ex- 
ercise this  power  over  the  succession  of  the 
thoughts,  and  in  the  subjects  to  which  these 
are  habitually  directed.  It  is  a  mental  exer- 
cise which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the  whole 
moral  condition.  He  who,  in  early  life,  seri- 
ously enters  upon  it,  under  a  sense  of  its  su- 
preme importance;  who  trains  himself  to  habits 
of  close  and  connected  thinking,  and  exerts  a 
strict  control  over  the  subjects  to  which  his 
thoughts  are  habitually  directed ;  leading  them 
to  such  as  are  really  worthy  of  his  regard,  and 
banishing  all  such  as  are  of  a  frivolous,  impure, 
or  degrading  character ;  this  is  he  who  is  pur- 
suing the  highest  of  all  earthly  acquirements, 
K 


110  CULTURE    AND   DISCIPLINE 

the  culture  of  the  understanding  and  the  disci- 
pline of  the  heart.  This  due  regulation  and 
stern  control  of  the  processes,  of  the  mind  is, 
indeed,  the  foundation  of  all  that  is  high  and 
excellent  in  the  formation  of  character.  He 
who  does  not  earnestly  exercise  it,  but  who  al- 
lows his  mind  to  wander  as  it  may  be  led  by 
its  own  incidental  images  or  casual  associations, 
or  by  the  influence  of  external  things  to  which 
he  is  continually  exposed,  endangers  his  high- 
est interests  both  as  an  intellectual  and  a  moral 
being.  "Keep  thy  heart  with  all  diligence," 
says  the  sacred  writer,  "  for  out  of  it  are  the  is- 
sues of  life." 

Now  it  cannot  be  too  anxiously  borne  in  mind 
that  this  great  attainment  is,  in  a  remarkable 
degree,  under  the  influence  of  habit.  Each 
step  that  we  take  in  the  prosecution  of  it  will 
facilitate  our  farther  progress;  and  every  day 
that  passes  over  us  without  making  it  the  ob- 
ject of  earnest  attention,  the  acquirement  be- 
comes the  more  difficult  and  the  more  uncer- 
tain, and  a  period  at  length  arrives  when  no 
power  exists  in  the  mind  capable  of  correcting 
the  disorder  which  habit  has  fixed  in  the  men- 
tal economy.     The  frivolous  mind  may  then 


OF    THB    MIND.  HI 

continue  frivolous  to  the  last,  amusing  itself 
with  trifles,  or  creating  for  itself  fictions  of  the 
fancy  no  better  than  dreams,  and  as  unprofita- 
ble :  the  distorted  mind  may  continue  to  the 
last  eagerly  pursuing  some  favourite  dogma, 
while  it  is  departing  farther  and  farther  from 
truth  ;  and  the  vitiated  and  corrupted  mind  may 
continue  to  the  last  the  slave  of  its  impure  and 
degrading  passions.  Such  is  the  power  and 
such  the  result  of  mental  habits ;  and  let  us 
ever  bear  in  mind  how  such  habits  are  formed. 
They  arise  out  of  individual  acts  of  the  mind ; 
and  we  have  not  the  means  of  determining  what 
number  of  such  acts  are  necessary  for  forming 
the  habits,  and  at  what  period  these  may  acquire 
a  nrjastery  which  shall  peril  the  highest  interests 
of  the  mind.  We  cannot  determine  how  many 
instances  of  frivolity  may  constitute  the  perma- 
nently frivolous  mind  ;  how  many  trains  of  im- 
purity may  constitute  the  permanently  corrupt- 
ed mind ;  or  what  degree  of  inattention  to  the 
diligent  culture  of  the  powers  within  may  be 
fatal  to  the  best  interests  of  the  man,  both  as 
an  intellectual  and  a  moral  being.  Hence  the 
supreme  importance  of  cultivating  in  early  Hfe 
the  mastery  of  the  mind,  and  of  watching  with 


112  CULTURE    AND    DISCIPLINE 

earnest  attention  the  trains  of  thought  which  we 
encourage  there,  as  we  cannot  determine  at 
what  period  a  habit  may  be  formed,  the  influ- 
ence of  which  shall  be  permanent  and  irreme- 
diable. 

When  we  take  this  extended  view  of  that 
which  constitutes  sound  intellectual  culture,  we 
perceive  that  it  does  not  consist  in  the  mere  ac- 
quirement of  knowledge,  however  extensive 
that  knowledge  may  be  ;  for  this  may  be  an  ex- 
ercise of  memory  alone.  We  feel  that  there  is 
a  culture  of  the  higher  powders  of  the  mind  of 
greater  difficulty  and  greater  importance  far, 
without  which  knowledge  is  vain.  This  is  a 
due  regulation  of  the  various  mental  faculties 
themselves,  so  that  each  may  perform  its  prop- 
er office  upon  the  knowledge  we  have  acquired  ; 
that  the  various  powers  within  may  observe  a 
healthy  relation  towards  each  other;  and  that 
from  the  whole  may  result  a  due  influence  upon 
our  motives  and  principles  of  action  as  moral 
and  responsible  beings.  Without  attention  to 
these  considerations,  a  man  may  accumulate  a 
mass  of  knowledge  which  yields  him  no  real 
advantage  ;  he  may  have  gone  the  round  of  the 
sciences,  commonly  so  called,  while   he   haa 


OF    THE    MIND.  113 

made  no  progress  in  that  higher  department,  the 
knowledge  of  himself. 

The  great  principle  of  self-government,  there- 
fore, consists  in  calling  ourselves  to  account 
both  for  what  we  know  and  for  what  we  do, 
and  for  the  discipline  which  we  exercise  over 
the  processes  of  our  minds.  It  consists  in 
questioning  ourselves  rigidly  what  progress  we 
are  making  in  important  acquirements;  what 
are  the  subjects  which  chiefly  occupy  our  atten- 
tion ;  whether  these  are  such  as  are  really  of  ad- 
equate value,  or  whether,  amid  undue  devoted- 
ness  to  some  favourite  pursuit,  others  of  higher 
importance  are  overlooked  and  forgotten;  or 
whether,  under  a  habit  of  listless  vacuity  and 
inactivity  of  mind,  we  may  be  allowing  the  best 
of  our  days  to  creep  on  without  eager  attention 
to  any  solid  acquirement  at  all.  It  consists  in 
questioning  ourselves  in  the  same  manner 
what  opinions  we  have  formed,  and  upon  what 
grounds  we  have  formed  them ;  whether  they 
have  been  received  from  others  without  exam- 
ining for  ourselves,  or  after  a  slight  and  partial 
exammation,  directed,  it  may  be,  by  some  previ- 
ously formed  prejudice,  or  whether  they  have 
been  deduced  from  a  full  and  fair  examination 
K2 


114  CULTURE    AND   DISCIPLINE 

of  all  the  facts  which  ought  to  be  taken  into 
the  inquiry.  It  consists,  finally,  in  scrutinizing 
our  mental  habits,  our  moral  feelings,  and  our 
principles  of  action  ;  what  are  the  subjects  to 
which  our  thoughts  are  most  habitually  direct- 
ed ?  what  the  motives  which  chiefly  influence 
our  conduct  ?  what  the  great  objects  which  we 
propose  to  ourselves  in  life  ?  what  place  among 
these  have  the  principles  of  selfish  indulgence, 
personal  distinction,  or  mere  human  applause  ? 
and  what  place  have  those  exalted  principles 
which  spring  from  a  higher  source,  and  rise  to 
that  elevation  from  which  they  spring,  a  spirit 
of  devotedness  to  Him  who  made  us,  and  views 
and  feelings  which  point  to  an  existence  beyond 
the  grave  ? 

In  regard  to  the  discipline  of  the  mind  as 
well  as  the  external  conduct,  the  rule  proposed 
by  Bishop  Butler  is  of  high  efiicacy  and  uni- 
versal application.  It  consists  in  simply  asking 
ourselves,  before  proceeding  to  any  act  or  any 
course  of  action,  "  i  s  this  I  am  going  to  do 
right,  or  is  it  wrong ;  is  it  good,  or  is  it  evil  ?" 
This  rule  is  so  simple  and  so  obvious,  that 
most  people,  probably,  think  they  act  upon  it ; 
but  this  they  will  find  has  been  done  in  a  very 


OF    THE    MIND.  115 

loose  and  inefficient  manner  when  they  come 
in  every  instance  distinctly  to  put  the  question 
and  distinctly  to  answer  it.  The  practice  of 
doing  so  in  every  step  of  life  will  grow  into  a 
habit  of  mental  discipline  of  vital  importance 
to  the  highest  interests  of  the  moral  being. 
It  ought  to  be  exercised,  not  in  regard  to  our 
actions  alone,  but  also  in  regard  to  the  process- 
es of  the  mind,  the  direction  of  the  attention, 
and  the  regulation  of  the  thoughts.  These  will 
be  found  to  be  as  much  under  the  influence  of 
a  voluntary  power  as  are  our  external  actions; 
and  the  due  and  habitual  exercise  of  this  pow- 
er is,  in  both  cases,  of  equal  and  indispensable 
importance  to  a  sound  moral  condition. 

A  leading  defect  in  many  characters,  and 
one  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  much  and 
serious  imperfection,  both  intellectual  and  mor- 
al, is  the  want  of  this  habit  of  self-inspection 
and  self-interrogation.  This  deficiency  is  not 
confined  to  the  listless  and  vacant  mind,  which 
allows  life  to  glide  over  it  amid  frivolities  and 
waking  dreams.  It  may  be  found  in  those  who 
are  intensely  and  actively  occupied  with  exter- 
nal things.  It  may  be  found  alike  in  the  la- 
borious student,  who  is  eager  in  the  pursuit  of 


116  CULTURE    AND    DISCIPLINE 

knowledge,  and  in  the  active  man  of  the  world, 
who,  engrossed  with  the  affairs  ot  the  living 
scene  which  is  moving  around  him,  has  neg- 
lected the  wondrous  scene  that  is  passing  with- 
in ;  has  never  cultivated  the  rigid  scrutiny  of  his 
own  intellectual  and  moral  temperament.  The 
truth,  indeed,  seems  to  be,  that,  after  a  certain 
period  of  life,  few  have  the  hardihood  thus 
sternly  to  look  within.  For  a  high  degree  of 
moral  courage  is  required  to  face  the  disclosure 
which  awaits  the  mind  when  it  is  thus  turned 
inward  upon  itself;  a  disclosure,  it  may  be,  of 
the  result  of  years  and  years  that  have  passed 
over  it  in  listless  inactivity,  which  yields  no- 
thing to  reflection  but  an  empty  void ;  or  in  the 
eager  pursuit  of  objects  which  are  seen  to  be 
worthless ;  or  in  the  acquirement  of  habits 
which  are  felt  to  be  destructive  of  the  health  of 
the  mind  ;  the  disclosure,  it  may  be,  of  impor- 
t2^nt  duties  neglected  and  important  pursuits 
overlooked,  and  the  conviction  that  life  is  draw- 
ing to  a  close  while  its  great  business  is  yet  to 
begin.  Few  have  moral  courage  to  meet  this 
disclosure  ;  and,  when  it  is  met  with  an  atten- 
tion in  some  degree  adequate  to  its  supreme 
interest,  the  impressions  which  it  yields  are  en 


OF    THE    MIND.  117 

countered  by  the  force  of  confirmed  nnoral  hab- 
its, which  seem  to  claim  every  faculty  and  feel- 
ing of  the  mind  as  theirs  by  hopeless  bondage. 
Hence  the  supreme  importance  of  cultivating 
in  early  life  the  habit  of  looking  within  ;  the 
practice  of  rigidly  questioning  ourselves  as  to 
what  we  are  and  what  we  are  doing ;  what  are 
our  mental  habits  ;  what  are  our  plans  and  pros- 
pects for  life,  and  what  influence  over  the  whole 
of  our  moral  discipline  have  the  solemn  reali- 
ties of  a  life  which  is  to  come.  What  I  have 
called  the  power  of  mastering  the  mind  consists, 
if  I  may  use  a  strong  mode  of  expression,  in 
compelling  it  to  listen  to  such  a  course  of  inter- 
rogation as  this,  and  compelling  it  to  return 
distinct  and  definite  answers.  Each  hour  that, 
in  early  life,  is  spent  in  such  an  exercise,  is 
fraught  with  results  of  greater  value  than  aught 
that  the  world  can  give.  The  exercise  is  grad- 
ually confirmed  into  a  mental  habit;  and,  under 
the  influence  of  a  power  from  on  high,  the  con- 
sequences are  likely  to  be  such  as  reach  beyond 
the  narrow  limits  of  time,  and  extend  into  eter- 
nal existence. 

The  regulated  condition  of  the  mind  which 


118  CULTURE    AND    DISCIPLINE 

has  been  the  subject  of  these  observations  is 
applicable  lo  every  situation  in  which  a  man 
can  be  placed  in  life,  and  leads  him  to  feel  his 
way  through  its  various  pursuits  and  responsi- 
bilities in  a  manner  adapted  to  the  requirements 
of  each  of  them.  But  it  more  properly  belongs 
to  the  aim  of  my  present  suggestions  lo  mark 
its  influence  upon  the  progress  of  the  mind  it- 
self; and  in  this  respect  I  may  allude,  in  a  very 
few  words,  to  its  remarkable  bearing  upon  three 
leading  objects  of  mental  discipline,  the  acqui- 
sition of  knowledge,  the  formation  of  opinions, 
and  the  culture  of  those  moral  emotions  of  the 
heart  which  are  the  last  and  highest  object  to 
every  responsible  being. 

I.  A  regulated  condition  of  the  mind  contrib- 
utes, in  a  most  material  degree,  to  our  progress 
in  knowledge.  In  this  respect  it  is,  in  the  first 
place,  the  source  of  a  quality  which  ought  to 
be  carefully  cultivated  in  early  life,  which  I  may 
call  mental  activity.  This  consists  of  an  eager, 
inquiring  state  of  mind,  ever  on  the  watch  for 
information  from  any  source  from  which  it  can 
be  drawn,  and  ever  anxious  to  make  its  infor- 
mation more  correct  and  more  extensive.     It 


OF   THE    MIND.  119 

leads  to  a  habit  of  observation,  by'  which  we 
learn  lo  derive  knowledge  from  all  that  is  pass- 
ing around  us.  It  teaches  us,  farther,  to  direct 
this  mental  activity  in  a  proper  manner,  by  se- 
lecting such  objects  as  are  really  deserving  of 
our  regard,  and  by  directing  the  mind  to  them 
with  a  steady  and  continuous  attention,  so  that 
we  may  acquire  a  full  and  connected  knowledge 
of  all  the  facts  and  their  relations  to  each  other, 
and  thus  prepare  them  for  the  conclusions  or 
general  principles  which  they  are  calculated  to 
yield.  It  thus  tends  to  preserve  us  from  frivo- 
lous pursuits  by  leading  us  to  a  steady  culture 
of  those  which  are  of  real  importance,  and  with 
an  eager  and  persevering  attention  adapted  to 
their  true  value.  For,  among  many  pursuits, 
no  man  can  excel  in  all ;  and  the  foundation  of 
eminence  is  a  due  selection,  and  a  leading  di- 
rection of  the  mind  to  those  which  are  thus  se- 
lected. You  will  be  at  no  loss  to  discover 
around  you  remarkable  and  instructive  exam- 
ples of  the  effects  produced  by  the  want  of  this 
sound  discipline  of  the  mind.  One  you  will 
find  dreaming  through  life,  without  directing 
himself  with  energy  to  any  object ;  a  second 
wasting  his  powers,  perhaps  of  a  superior  or- 


k 


120  CULTURE    AND    DISCIPLINE 

der,  in  a  desultory  application  to  a  variety  of 
studies,  without  excelling  in  one ;  while  a  third 
devotes  himself  with  eagerness  and  zeal  to 
some  favourite  pursuit,  neglecting  others  which 
really  merit  his  chief  regard. 

Closely  connected  with  the  habit  of  mental  ac- 
tivity is  the  habit  of  reflection  on  the  relations 
of  the  facts  which  are  acquired,  leading  us  to 
observe  their  connexions  and  the  conclusions 
which  they  yield  ;  and  the  habit  of  association, 
referring  facts  to  others  with  which  they  bear 
an  analogy,  and  to  principles  or  opinions  which 
they  tend  to  confirm,  modify,  or  overturn.  It 
teaches  us  also  to  trace  among  facts  the  rela- 
tion of  cause  and  effect,  and  to  deduce  from 
them  general  conclusions  or  general  principles, 
the  last  and  main  object  of  science.  Now  the 
whole  of  this  course  of  mental  activity  is  pro- 
ductive not  only  of  intellectual  improvement, 
but  of  the  highest  mental  enjoyment,  while  the 
frivolous  or  ill-regulated  mind  is  not  only  fatal 
to  improvement,  but  is  a  burden  to  itself,  and, 
as  life  advances,  becomes  its  own  tormentor. 
Let,  then,  the  eager  desire  for  knowledge  carry 
you  above  those  pursuits  which  waste  the  best 
years  of  so  many  around  you,  and  leave  them, 


OF   THE    MIND.  12l 

even  to  the  close  of  their  days,  the  victims  of 
frivolity  still. 

In  regard  to  this  important  object,  there  are 
some  suggestions  of  a  practical  nature  which 
I  may  offer  in  a  few  words. 

(1.)  Carefully  select  the  subjects  to  which 
your  attention  is  to  be  more  particularly  direct- 
ed ;  and,  having  selected  them  from  a  deliber- 
ate conviction  of  their  importance,  prosecute 
them  steadily  and  perseveringly,  upon  a  regular 
and  connected  plan.  To  a  certain  extent,  the 
mind  derives  a  feeling  of  relief  from  varying  its 
occupations,  but  this  requires  to  be  done  with 
caution;  for  a  most  essential  means  of  prog- 
ress in  intellectual  pursuits  is  to  have  one 
leading  object,  to  which  the  energies  of  the 
mind  are  directed  in  a  special  manner.  This 
ought  not  only  to  be  cultivated  by  regular  peri- 
ods of  study,  but  should  be  kept,  as  it  were, 
habitually  before  the  mind,  so  as  to  prove  a 
ready  subject  of  thought,  to  which  the  atten- 
tion may  be  directed  during  intervals  of  disen- 
gagement from  any  direct  pursuit.  The  mind 
cannot  be  unoccupied,  and  to  all  there  are  many 
such  periods  of  disengagement ;  it  is  a  most 
important  part  of  mental  discipline  to  cultivate 
L 


122  CULTURE   AND    DISCIPLINE 

the  habit  of  having  ready  and  accessible  objects 
to  which  the  nnind  may  then  be  directed  in  a 
profitable  manner.  This  is  a  practice  of  great 
value  in  the  regulation  of  the  mind  itself,  and 
calculated  to  prevent  habits  which  are  destruct- 
ive of  a  sound  mental  condition  ;  and  it  is  also 
a  source  of  much  real  intellectual  progress. 
For  a  subject  which  is  habitually  contemplated 
in  this  manner  often  expands  itself  before  the 
mind  with  comparatively  little  effort,  develop- 
ing views  and  principles  which  had  probably 
escaped  us  in  periods  of  more  regular  study. 

(2.)  Cultivate  the  habit  of  intense  attention 
to  whatever  subject  is  before  you,  whether  in 
reading,  observation,  or  in  listening  to  the  in- 
struction of  others  ;  and  check  the  first  tenden- 
cy either  to  a  listless  inactivity  of  mind,  or  to 
allowing  it  to  be  led  astray  by  visions  of  the 
imagination,  or  by  incidental  trains  of  associa- 
tion foreign  to  the  subject.  Sound  intellectual 
progress  depends  less  upon  protracted  and  la- 
borious study  than  on  the  habit  of  close,  steady, 
and  continued  attention.  It  is  from  it  that  evi- 
dence derives  its  power  to  produce  conviction ; 
it  is  by  means  of  it  that  any  subject  of  inquiry 
is  brought  before  the  mind  in  a  manner  calcu 


OF    THE    MIND.  123 

lated  to  yield  sound  views  and  accurate  conclu- 
sions ;  and  the  deficiency  of  it  is  the  source  of 
those  partial  and  distorted  impressions  by  which 
men,  even  of  considerable  endowments,  often 
wander  so  widely  from  truth.  This  habit,  of 
what  I  may  call  active  attention,  will  carry  you 
through  every  pursuit  in  a  manner  calculated 
to  ensure  the  utmost  advantage  from  it.  Does 
a  subject  occur  to  you  either  in  reading,  con- 
versation, or  reflection,  in  which  you  feel  that 
your  knowledge  is  deficient,  you  will  promptly 
go  in  search  of  the  information  that  is  wanting. 
In  perusing  a  work^  your  attention  will  be  acute- 
ly and  distinctly  directed  to  the  information  to 
be  derived  from  it,  the  train  of  investigation  or 
of  reasoning  which  the  author  pursues,  the  au- 
thenticity of  his  facts,  the  validity  of  his  argu- 
ments, the  accuracy  of  his  conclusions,  his  style 
of  writing,  his  character  as  an  observer,  and  all 
the  circumstances  which  may  enable  you  to  de- 
cide whether  you  can  trust  to  him  as  a  guide 
in  the  branch  of  knowledge  of  which  he  treats 
A  discourse  to  which  you  have  occasion  to  lis- 
ten may  possibly  be  uninteresting,  and  may 
promise  little  improvement,  and  you  may  feel 
the  disposition   to  allow  the  mind  to  wander 


124  CULTURE    AND   DISCIPLINE 

from  it ;  but  in  such  circumstances  there  should 
never  be  forgotten  the  paramount  importance  of 
the  discipline  of  the  mind  itself,  and  the  danger 
of  anything  that  might  break  in  upon  the  habit 
of  attention.  In  the  pursuits  of  science,  this 
habit  of  the  mind  leads  to  sound  knowledge  and 
correct  conclusions ;  in  the  affairs  of  ordinary 
life,  it  is  the  source  of  promptitude,  united  to 
discretion  and  prudence ;  in  the  highest  con- 
cerns of  a  man  as  a  moral  being,  it  brings  him 
under  the  influence  of  those  important  truths 
which  are  calculated  to  guide  and  regulate  his 
moral  emotions,  and  his  whole  character  and 
conduct  in  life.  Such  is  the  power  of  the  habit 
of  attention  ;  it  is  not  saying  too  much  of  it  to 
affirm  that  it  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the  whole 
character. 

(3.)  Cultivate  the  object  of  correct  observa- 
tion, association,  and  reflection.  This  is  near- 
ly connected  with  the  former:  it  leads  us  to  be 
acutely  awake  to  all  that  is  passing  around  us, 
and  to  be  ever  on  the  watch  for  information 
from  every  source  from  which  we  can  draw  it. 
It  teaches  us  to  treasure  up  knowledge  in  an 
orderly  and  accessible  form,  by  associating  new 
facts  or  principles  with  others  to  which  they 


OF    THE    MIND.  125 

bear  a  relation  or  analogy,  and  with  principles 
or  objects  of  inquiry  which  they  tend  to  illus- 
trate. It  leads  us,  farther,  to  trace  among  facts 
the  relations  which  they  bear  to  each  other, 
and  the  new  principles  and  conclusions  to 
which  they  conduct  us  ;  and  thus,  by  a  process 
of  the  mind  itself,  to  deduce  new  and  important 
truths  from  a  simple  series  of  facts  which  are 
before  us.  This  condition  of  the  mind  is  the 
source  of  what  we  call  Observing  and  Invent- 
ive Genius,  which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  all 
philosophical  eminence.  Observing  Genius 
leads  the  philosopher  not  only  to  acquire  facts, 
but  to  arrange,  generalize,  and  reflect  upon  them 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  deduce  from  them  new 
truths,  which  the  mere  collector  of  facts  does 
not  discover.  It  was  by  reflections  produced 
by  the  fall  of  an  apple  from  a  tree  that  New- 
ton was  led  to  those  principles  which  regulate 
the  movement  of  the  great  bodies  of  the  uni- 
verse. Inventive  Genius,  again,  leads  him  not 
only  to  observe  and  arrange  facts  when  they 
are  presented  to  him,  but  to  go  in  search  of 
them.  In  doing  so,  he  takes  for  his  guides  cer- 
tain conjectures  or  assumptions  which  have 
arisen  out  of  his  own  intense  contemplation  of 
L2 


126  CULTURE    AND    DISCIPLINE 

the  subject,  and  then  commences  a  course  of 
observations  or  experiments  calculated  to  ascer- 
tain their  truth.  This  habit  of  the  mind,  there- 
fore, is  pecuharly  applicable  to  the  experiment- 
al sciences,  and  in  these  has  often  been  the 
source  of  the  most  important  discoveries. 

(4.)  Study  to  acquire  the  habit  of  improving 
fragments  of  time.  A  very  little  experience 
will  convince  you  of  the  great  importance  of 
this  rule,  and  will  show  you  how  much  may  be 
done  by  the  careful  improvement  of  portions  of 
time  which  are  too  often  entirely  lost.  They 
are  lost  partly  from  the  want  of  that  habitual 
mental  activity  which  has  been  so  often  refer- 
red to,  and  partly  from  not  cultivating  the  habit 
of  having  some  leading  object  always,  as  it 
were,  in  progress,  and  keeping  it  so  before  the 
mind  that  the  attention  may  at  any  time  be 
directed  to  it  in  a  profitable  manner. 

(5.)  In  the  culture  of  the  mental  habits 
which  have  been  referred  to  much  benefit  is 
derived  from  writing,  provided  it  be  done  in  a 
distinct,  methodical  manner,  and  in  your  own 
words.  In  history,  for  example,  it  may  consist 
of  chronological  tables,  with  the  addition  of 
your  own   reflections  on   the  relations  of  the 


OP    THE    MIND.  127 

events,  and  the  displays  of  character  which 
they  present  to  us ;  in  other  subjects,  of  ab- 
stracts of  innportant  facts,  statements,  and  argu- 
ments, with  your  own  observations.  Such  a 
practice  tends  to  fix  the  attention,  and  to  culti- 
vate habits  of  correct  thinking  and  correct  ex- 
pression. 

The  points  of  mental  discipline  which  have 
been  thus  briefly  referred  to  you  will  find  at 
first  to  require  an  exertion  and  a  steady  effort 
to  exercise  that  power  which  you  possess  over 
the  processes  of  the  mind.  If  left  to  itself,  the 
mind  is  very  apt  to  become  listless,  or  to  be 
led  away  into  incidental  trains  of  images  which 
have  arisen  within  itself,  or  have  been  suggest- 
ed by  some  trivial  source  of  association.  But 
you  find  that  you  have  the  power  to  control  its 
movements ;  to  direct  it  into  trains  of  thought 
of  a  useful  and  important  kind,  and  to  check 
the  first  risings  of  such  as  are  of  an  opposite 
character.  The  effort,  made  with  steadiness 
and  perseverance,  will  become  easier  the  lon- 
ger it  is  pursued,  and  will  be  gradually  formed 
into  a  habit,  the  important  habit  of  a  well-reg'. 
ulated  mind. 


128  CULTURE    AND    DISCIPLINE 

According  to  a  common  mode  of  expression, 
we  attach  ^reat  importance  to  that  which  we 
call  genius^  and  which  we  consider  as  an  origi- 
nal quality  of  particular  minds.  But  what  is 
of  greater  value  than  that  which  often  receives 
the  name  of  genius  is  not  to  be  considered  as 
an  original  quality,  but  a  habit  of  the  mind.  It 
is  nothing  more  than  intense  mental  activity, 
steadily  directed  to  some  leading  pursuit.  This 
important  principle  was  well  illustrated  by  Sir 
Charles  Bell  in  his  introductory  address  to  his 
first  course  of  lectures  in  Edinburgh,  when  he 
took  occasion  to  allude  to  that  distinguished 
physiologist  and  surgeon,  Mr.  John  Hunter. 
Mr.  Hunter,  he  said,  had  been  called  a  man  of 
genius,  but  he  was  disposed  to  take  a  different 
view  of  his  character  from  that  which  is  com- 
monly expressed  by  that  term.  The  great  and 
leading  feature  in  Mr.  Hunter's  character,  he 
added,  was,  that  he  was  steadily  and  eagerly 
devoted  to  his  object,  and  that  no  change  of  ex- 
ternal circumstances  had  the  power,  for  one  mo- 
ment, of  turning  him  aside  from  it.  Was  he  in 
his  study  or  in  his  dissecting-room,  or  min- 
gling with  men  in  the  common  occupations  of 
life ;  was  he  at  sea,  shut  up  in  a  crowded  trans- 


OF    THE    MIND.  129 

port,  or  was  he  in  the  field  of  battle,  with  bul- 
lets flying  and  men  dropping  around  him,  one 
great  object  was  steadily  and  habitually  before 
him,  and  he  never  lost  an  opportunity  of  seiz- 
ing upon  everything  that  could  in  any  way  be 
made  to  bear  upon  it.  This,  call  it  by  what 
name  you  will,  is  the  source  of  all  distinction. 
It  is  greatly  assisted  by  education;  but  what  I 
am  anxious  to  impress  upon  you  is,  that  it  is  not 
an  original  quality,  but  an  acquired  habit  of  the 
mind,  and  a  habit  which  may  be  cultivated  by 
every  one  who  determinedly  devotes  himself  to 
the  high  attainment. 

II.  The  second  great  mental  operation,  in 
which  is  felt  the  value  of  a  regulated  mind,  is 
the  formation  of  opinions.  Here  various  errors 
are  committed,  but  all  of  them  are  of  serious 
moment.  There  is  a  listless  vacuity  of  mind 
which  prevents  it  from  being  directed  with  at- 
tention or  interest  to  the  formation  of  defined 
opinions,  even  on  subjects  of  supreme  impor- 
tance. There  is  a  servility  of  mind  which 
leaves  it  the  slave  of  mere  authority,  without 
forming  opinions  for  itself  by  personal  inquiry. 
And  there  is  a  rude  and  reckless  affectation  of 


130  CULTURE    AND  DISCIPLINE 

mental  independence  or  liberty  of  thinking 
which  leads  a  man  to  despise  authority,  to  aim 
at  striking  out  for  himself  a  system  distinguish- 
ed from  the  received  opinions  of  those  around 
him,  led,  it  may  be,  by  a  love  of  singularity  or 
the  vanity  of  appearing  wiser  than  his  neigh- 
bours ;  or,  perhaps,  impelled  by  the  condition 
of  his  moral  feelings,  to  argue  himself  into  the 
disbelief  of  what  he  wishes  not  to  be  true. 
From  all  such  distortions  of  the  understanding 
a  regulated  mental  discipline  tends  to  preserve 
us.  It  induces  us  to  approach  every  subject 
with  a  sincere  and  humble  desire  for  truth ;  to 
give  its  due  influence  to  authority,  without  be- 
ing blindly  led  by  it ;  to  give  its  due  weight  to 
every  kind  of  evidence,  without  partial  views 
or  imperfect  examination ;  and  to  direct  the 
whole  powers,  not  to  favour,  establish,  or  over- 
turn particular  opinions,  but  honestly  and  anx- 
iously to  discover  what  is  truth. 

This  is  a  subject  of  intense  and  solemn  in- 
terest. A  slight  attention  to  the  philosophy  of 
it  will  enable  you  to  perceive  its  true  bearings 
upon  us  as  responsible  beings ;  and  how,  on  the 
highest  of  all  subjects,  a  man  may  incur  moral 
guilt  in  the  formation  of  his  opinions.     Both  as 


OF   THE    MIND.  131 

intellectual  and  moral  beings,  the  great  agent  by 
which  we  are  acted  upon  is  truth.  Trulh  de 
rives  its  power  from  evidence ;  and  there  are 
lawrs  of  evidence  which,  in  their  nature,  are  as 
absolute  and  immutable  as  the  laws  of  physi- 
cal relations.  But  for  the  operation  of  them  a 
state  of  the  mind  ilself  is  required  ;  and  without 
this,  even  the  best  evidence  may  be  deprived  of 
its  power  to  produce  conviction.  For  the  result 
of  evidence  upon  the  mind  depends  on  close 
and  continued  attention  ;  and  this  is  a  voluntary 
process  which  every  one  may  be  able  to  per- 
form. It  is  on  this  ground,  therefore,  that  we 
hold  a  man  to  be  responsible  for  his  belief,  and 
contend  that  he  may  incur  deep  moral  guilt  in 
his  disbelief  of  truths  which  he  has  examined 
in  a  frivolous  or  prejudiced  manner,  or  which, 
perhaps,  he  indulges  in  the  miserable  affecta- 
tion of  disbelieving  without  having  examined 
them  at  all.  The  remarkable  fact,  indeed,  ap- 
pears to  be,  that  the  chief  source  of  unbelief,  on 
the  greatest  of  all  subjects,  is  generally  to  be 
found  in  a  previous  moral  corruption  of  the 
mind.  It  arises  from  no  defect  of  evidence, 
but  from  a  state  of  mind  on  which  the  highest 
falls  without  power.     This  striking  moral  pro- 


132  CULTURE    AND    DISCIPLINE 

cess  begins  by  a  man  renouncing  the  guidance 
of  sound  moral  principle  and  ihe  restraints  of 
religious  truth  both  on  his  conduct  and  on  the 
discipline  of  his  heart.  The  great  truths  which 
he  thus  violates  are  then  repelled  as  intruders 
which  disturb  his  mental  tranquillity  ;  and,  from 
this  stage  in  his  downward  progress,  the  ca- 
reer is  short  and  the  mental  process  simple  by 
which  he  succeeds  in  driving  the  belief  of  them 
from  his  mind.  Such  is  the  wondrous  econo- 
my of  the  human  heart,  and  such  is  the  history 
of  many  a  man,  who,  after  a  certain  course  of 
moral  degradation,  has  sought  refuge  in  infidel- 
ity. 

On  the  great  questions  of  religious  belief, 
therefore,  allow  me  to  suggest  to  you  some  con- 
siderations respecting  the  manner  in  which  a 
well-regulated  mind  ought  to  approach  this 
highest  of  all  inquiries. 

(1.)  Beware  of  indifference  ;  that  is,  of  treat- 
ing the  subject  in  a  light  and  careless  manner ; 
professing,  it  may  be,  a  nominal  acquiescence 
in  certain  truths,  because  you  have  been  taught 
them  in  your  infancy,  or  because  they  are  the 
established  creed  of  those  with  whom  you  are 
particularly  connected.     Study  the  subject  for 


OF    THE    MIND.  13S 

yourselves  ;  study  it  in  a  regular  and  connected 
manner,  and  let  every  step  be  a  matter  of  close 
and  serious  personal  inquiry.  Study  it  under 
a  deep  sense  of  its  supreme  importance,  and 
with  an  anxious  desire  that  the  opinions  you 
form  shall  be  consistent  with  truth,  and  that 
they  shall  embrace  the  whole  truth ;  and,  final- 
ly, study  it  with  a  devout  reliance  on  a  light 
and  an  influence  from  above,  which  are  promised 
to  the  humble  inquirer;  a  light  which  will  con- 
duct to  the  truth,  and  an  influence  which  will 
fix  that  truth  as  a  ruling  principle  in  the  whole 
economy  of  the  heart.  It  is  the  part  of  a  reg- 
ulated mind  not  only  to  know  the  truths,  but 
to  know  the  grounds  on  which  they  are  believed 
to  be  true ;  ^ "  to  be  able  to  give  a  reason  for  the 
hope  that  is  in  you."  When  the  great  elements 
of  the  Christian  faith  are  thus  studied  in  a  man- 
ner adapted  to  their  supreme  importance,  they 
are  found  to  rest  upon  a  chain  of  evidence 
which  falls  upon  the  mind  with  irresistible  pow- 
er. This  evidence  is  addressed  to  us  as  ration- 
al and  responsible  beings  ;  but  its  influence  de- 
pends upon  the  attention  which  is  directed  to  it, 
and  this  is  a  voluntary  process  of  the  mind 
which  it  is  the  solemn  duty  of  every  man  to 
M 


134  CULTURE   AND   DISCIPLINE 

perform.  That  the  truths  may  exert  their  due 
influence  upon  the  moral  condition,  they  ought 
ihvxA  to  be  fixed  in  the  understanding ;  for  it  is 
at  once  the  source  of  true  faith,  and  the  best 
antidote  to  enthusiasm,  liiat  faith  be  founded  in 
knowledge.  But  that  this  great  purpose  may 
be  answered,  the  attention  must  be  devoted  not 
to  the  evidence  alone;  it  must  be  extended, 
with  the  same  anxious  care,  to  the  doctrines 
themselves.  These  are  presented  to  tiie  can- 
did inquirer  with  a  wondrous  force  of  internal 
evidence,  when  he  perceives  their  harmony 
with  each  oiher  and  their  adaptation  to  the  ac- 
tual condition  of  man  ;  and,  to  a  mind  thus  pre- 
pared, they  soon  vindicate  their  claim  to  subju- 
gate every  emotion  of  the  heart  to  their  power, 
the  power  of  immutable  and  eternal  truth. 

(2.)  Acting  upon  these  principles,  you  will 
learn  to  estimate,  according  to  its  real  value,  a 
display  of  character  which,  I  fear,  you  may 
meet  with  in  the  intercourse  of  life.  This  is 
what  I  would  call  the  cant  of  infidelity  ;  the  af- 
fectation of  scoffing  at  sacred  things  by  men 
who  have  never  examined  the  subject,  or  never 
with  a  degree  of  attention  at  all  adapted  to  its 
deep  importance.     The  conduct  of  such  per- 


OF    THE    MIND.  135 

gons  is  not  more  melancholy  in  itself  than  it  is 
at  variance  with  every  other  principle  worthy 
of  a  regulated  mind.  The  following  account  of 
the  menial  condition,  in  a  noted  class  of  French 
infidels,  is  given  by  one  who  knew  them  well, 
and  whose  authority  is  entitled  to  the  utmost 
confidence.  "  Vanity  has  a  greater  share  in 
iheir  disputes  than  conscience  ;  they  imagine 
that  the  singularity  and  boldness  of  the  opin- 
ions which  they  maintain  will  give  them  the  rep- 
utation of  men  of  parts ;  by  degrees  they  get 
into  a  habit  of  holding  impious  discourse,  and, 
if  their  vanity  be  accompanied  by  a  voluptuous 
life,  their  progress  in  that  road  is  the  swifter. 
They  have  made  no  deep  exami- 
nation ;  they  have  learned  some  few  objections, 
which  they  are  perpetually  making  a  noise  with ; 
they  speak  from  a  principle  of  ostentation,  and 
give  themselves  the  lie  in  the  time  of  danger."* 
Such  is  infidelity  as  described  by  one  who  had 
ample  opportunity  of  knowing  it,  and  such 
will  it  in  general  be  found  to  be.  I  wilLnot 
venture  to  maintain  that  it  is  impossible  to  find 
a  man  who  has  arrived  at  this  conclusion  after 
an  extent  of  examination  adapted  to  the  su* 
*  Bayle's  Dictiouary, 


136  CULTURE    AND    DISCIPLINE 

preme  importance  of  the  subject,  but  1  hesitate 
not  to  assert  that  it  will  be  exceedingly  difficult ; 
and  1  believe  it  may  be  confidently  stated  as  a 
fact,  that  calm  and  serious  inquiry  has  almost  in- 
variably ended  in  conviction. 

III.  But  I  must  leave  this  deeply  important 
subject,  and  hasten  to  offer  a  very  few  remarks 
on  the  third  of  the  topics  to  which  I  have  al- 
luded, the  influence  of  a  regulated  mind  on  the 
tnoral  emotions  of  the  h6art.  In  these  consists 
the  highest  state  of  man,  his  soundness  as  a 
moral  being;  and  there  flow  from  them,  by  di- 
rect and  natural  sequence,  all  those  affections 
and  motives  of  action  which  guide  his  conduct 
to  his  fellow-men,  and  those  nobler  emotions 
fetill  which  raise  the  feeble  and  finite  being  to 
Him  the  infinite  and  eternal.  In  the  culture 
of  these  are  involved  not  only  the  chief  dignity 
of  our  nature,  and  our  prospects  as  moral  and 
responsible  beings,  but  also,  in  an  equal  de- 
gree, our  present  sound  and  solid  happiness. 
They  constitute  that  true  wisdom,  of  which  we 
are  entitled  to  say,  on  the  best  of  all  authority, 
"  her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  her 
paths  are  peace." 


OF   THE    MIND.  137 

Here  we  are  reminded  of  that  remarkable 
principle  which  pervades  the  whole  economy  of 
the  mind,  the  intimate  relation  which  exists  be- 
tween the  moral  emotions  and  intellectual  pro- 
cesses over  which  we  have  a  direct  and  absolute 
control.  As  moral  and  responsible  beings,  the 
power  by  which  we  are  acted  upon  is  truth. 
But  all  truth  must  first  be  presented  to  the  un- 
derstanding; and  being,  by  an  appropriate  pro- 
cess of  examination,  received  into  the  mind,  it 
is  then,  by  a  voluntary  exercise  of  attention  and 
reflection,  to  be  applied  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
produce  its  proper  influence  on  the  moral  emo- 
tions of  the  heart.  It  is  thus  that  a  beautiful 
harmony  and  consistency  pervade  the  whole 
economy  of  the  mind,  evidently  worthy  of  Him 
who  made  it ;  and  it  is  thus  that  a  solemn  re- 
sponsibility attaches  to  ourselves  in  regard  to 
those  emotions  of  the  heart  over  which  we  have 
not  a  direct  control.  It  is  precisely  the  same 
principle  to  which  I  have  already  referred  re- 
specting the  responsibility  of  man  for  his  belief. 
He  cannot  believe  as  he  wills  by  any  direct  ef- 
fort of  his  mind,  yet  a  deep  responsibility  at- 
taches to  him  in  the  formation  of  his  opinions ; 
and  he  cannot  call  forth  at  his  bidding  the  moral 


138  CULTURE    AND    DISCIPLINE 

emotions  of  the  heart ;  but  the  deepest  guilt 
may  be  involved  in  the  absence  of  them ;  be- 
cause, by  an  established  economy  of  his  mind^ 
they  arise  out  of  processes  of  the  understand- 
ing over  which  he  has  an  absolute  power,  ap- 
phed  to  truths  which,  under  a  higher  influence, 
are  calculated  to  exert  a  direct  control  over  the 
moral  emotions  of  the  heart.  This  part  of  the 
mental  constitution  is  worthy  of  the  deepest  at 
tention  of  every  one  who  appreciates  that  most 
essential  of  all  pursuits,  the  culture  of  the 
moral  feelings.  It  is  by  means  of  it  that  truth, 
which  is  received  by  a  process  of  the  under- 
standing, is  made  to  exert  its  power  in  control- 
ling the  tempests  of  the  heart ;  it  is  by  means 
of  it  that  we  can  invite  and  cherish  mental  im- 
ages and  trains  of  thought,  which  tend  directly 
to  the  highest  purposes  of  our  moral  culture  ; 
and  can  banish  those  which  have  an  opposite 
tendency,  as  enemies  which  would  poison  the 
springs  of  moral  health  and  peril  the  safety  of 
the  moral  being. 

And  what  are  the  truths  which,  under  a  su- 
preme influence,  our  intellectual  nature  is  thus 
to  use  as  the  engines  of  a  power  to  control  and 
regulate  the  emotions  of  the  heart  ?     They  are 


OF   THE    MIND,  139 

those  which  refer  to  the  attributes  of  God,  and 
our  relation  to  him  as  the  creatures  of  his  hand, 
moral,  responsible,  and  immortal.  They  rest 
upon  evidence  so  extensive  and  so  varied,  that 
its  authority  will  be  best  appreciated  by  those 
who  have  made  the  greatest  attainments  in  the 
laws  of  rigid  inquiry.  This  evidence  is  above 
us,  and  within  us,  and  around  us.  Every  step 
that  we  take  amid  the  wonders  of  creation 
without  leads  us  to  new  discoveries  of  the 
power,  and  wisdom,  and  goodness  of  Him  who 
called  them  into  being  by  his  word,  and  main- 
tains them  all  in  undeviating  harmony.  When 
we  turn  our  attention  within,  we  read  in  the 
moral  impressions  of  our  own  minds,  or,  in 
other  words,  in  the  light  of  conscience,  his  at- 
tributes of  holiness,  and  justice,  and  truth. 
And,  meeting  with  difficulties  in  the  book  of 
natural  religion,  we  have  only  to  turn  to  the 
page  of  revelation,  where  all  these  difficulties 
are  removed,  and  the  Divine  character  is  dis- 
played with  a  harmony  and  consistency  which 
carry  conviction  to  every  candid  mind.  We 
have  there  disclosed  the  wondrous  provision 
which  has  been  made  by  infinite  wisdom  and 
infinite  mercy  for  the  restoration  of  man  from 


140  CULTURE    AND    DISCIPLINE 

his  State  of  moral  ruin,  and  a  power  adapted  to 
his  moral  weakness,  and  a  light  to  shine  upon 
his  moral  darkness,  and  a  code  of  ethics  more 
high,  more  pure,  and  more  extensive  far,  than 
ever  was  contemplated  by  the  wisest  of  men. 
The  whole  is  supported  by  a  weight  of  evidence 
which  fixes  itself  upon  the  mind  with  irresisti- 
ble power,  and,  with  a  lone  of  authority,  it  calls 
our  attention  to  all  the  responsibilities  of  life, 
and  all  the  realities  of  a  life  which  is  to  come. 
Such  are  the  truths  which,  as  moral  causes, 
are  calculated  to  act  upon  the  mind,  and  thus  to 
control  and  regulate  our  emotions  and  our  whole 
character  as  moral  and  responsible  beings ;  and 
it  is  of  the  utmost  consequence  that  we  attend 
to  the  philosophy  of  that  process  by  which  they 
may  be  made  to  answer  this  great  purpose,  and 
without  which  it  may  be  entirely  lost  to  us, 
with  all  its  important  results.  This  is  an  exer- 
cise of  attention  and  reflection  over  which 
every  man  feels  that  he  has  a  voluntary  control. 
The  truths  are  endowed  with  certain  tenden- 
cies which  are  as  uniform  as  the  operation  of 
physical  causes ;  but  their  actual  efficiency  is 
closely  connected  with  this  exercise  of  the  mind 
itself;  and  it  is  thus  that,  by  ignorance  or  in* 


OF    THE    MIND.  141 

attention,  a  man  may  incur  the  deepest  guilt  in 
the  want  of  that  moral  culture,  the  great  agents 
of  which  are  thus  presented  to  him,  and  press- 
ed upon  his  attention  as  a  rational  being.  Now 
the  truths  to  which  I  have  thus  referred  are 
usually  called  objects  of  faith;  and  you  will 
often  find  a  distinction  made  between  objects 
of  reason  and  objects  of  faith,  as  if  the  latter 
were,  in  some  respect,  inferior  to  the  former  in 
their  evidence  and  stability  ;  but  this  is  entirely 
without  foundation.  The  truths  which  are  the 
objects  of  faith  are  properly  so  called  because 
they  do  not  come  under  the  cognizance  of  any 
of  our  senses  ;  but  they  are  as  directly  address- 
ed to  the  understanding  as  the  most  obvious  in- 
ductions of  physical  science ;  and  they  carry  a 
weight  of  evidence  as  direct  and  incontrovert- 
ible to  every  mind  which  is  open  to  its  power. 
This  evidence,  indeed,  is  of  a  different  charac- 
ter, but  its  strength  and  its  authority  are  the 
same.  The  truths  themselves  are  calculated  to 
engage  the  highest  powers  of  the  mind ;  and 
the  most  exalted  understanding  that  ever  dwelt 
in  human  form  will  derive  from  them  a  new- 
feeling  of  intellectual  vigour  and  moral  health, 
by  which  it  shall  wing  its  way  to  those  regions 


142  CULTURE    AND    DISCIPLINE 

where  shine  forth  in  a  peculiar  nnanner  the  Di- 
vine perfections ;  and  shall  there  prostrate  these 
highest  powers  in  devout  and  hunnble  adoration 
of  Him"  who  was,  and  who  is,  and  who  is  to 
conne."  This,  and  nothing  less  than  this,  is 
true  philosophy ;  for  it  is  this  alone  that  traces 
the  phenomena  of  nature  to  their  cause ;  it  is 
this  alone  that  takes  within  its  grasp  the  whole 
range  of  truth,  and  places  fairly  and  deliberately 
against  the  mere  objects  of  sense  those  great 
realities  which  are  the  objects  of  faith. 

Our  highest  concern  as  moral  beings,  there- 
fore, being  not  with  objects  of  sense,  but  with 
things  future  and  objects  unseen,  to  live,  in  a 
certain  degree,  under  the  influence  of  these  is 
essential  to  a  sound  moral  condition.  But  this 
requires  an  effort  of  the  mind  of  a  very  pecu- 
liar nature.  It  requires  that  we  cherish  the 
habit  of  banishing  for  a  time  the  power  of  sen- 
sible objects,  and  of  raising  the  faculty  of  con- 
ception to  an  immediate  contemplation  and  re- 
alizing impression  of  things  and  events  which 
are  the  objects  of  faith.  It  requires  that  we 
cultivate  the  habit  of  referring  every  act  of  our 
life  and  every  element  of  our  character  to  the 
will  of  God ;  of  treasuring  up  in  the  mind  the 


OF    THE    MIND.  143 

principles  and  maxims  of  his  word,  and  of  ma- 
king ihem  the  subject  of  contemplation  in  such 
a  manner  that  they  may  at  all  times  promptly 
exert  their  power,  both  in  the  regulation  of  the 
conduct  and  the  discipline  of  the  heart.     We 
have  formerly  alluded  to  the  numerous  intervals 
of  disengagement  of  mind  which  are  left  to  us 
even  in  the  busiest  life,  and  the  great  import- 
ance of  having  accessible  subjects  of  thought 
to  which  the  mind  can  then  be  directed  in  a 
profitable  manner.     It  is  in  reference  to  such 
intervals   that    the  sacred  writer  describes   so 
beautifully  the  effect  produced  upon  him  when 
he  sought  refuge  in  the  contemplation  of  the 
Divine  character,  and  the  impression  which  im- 
mediately followed   of  a  sense  of  the  Divine 
protection  :  "  When  I  remember  thee  upon  my 
bed,  and  meditate  on  thee  in  the  night  watches, 
in    the  shadow  of  thy  wings  will   I  rejoice.'' 
The  most  exalted  aspirations  of  the  poet  can 
ascend  to  nothing  more  sublime  than  this,  at 
once  pointing  to  the  highest  elevation  to  which 
the  finite  being  can  aspire  to  rise,  and  leading 
to  some  of  the  most  important  principles  both 
in  intellectual  and  moral  science. 
Let  it,  then,  be  your  study  in  early  life  to  cul- 


144  CULTURE    AND    DISCIPLINE 

tivate  that  sound  condition  of  the  mind  by  which 
its  powers  are  not  kept  in  bondage  to  the  mere 
objects  of  sense,  but  are  trained  to  the  habit  of 
bringing  down  upon  it  the  habitual  influence  of 
the  truths  which  are  the  objects  of  faith.  Amid 
the  collisions  of  active  life  on  which  you  are 
about  to  enter,  you  will  soon  find  yourselves  in 
want  of  a  safer  guide  than  can  be  furnished  by 
human  wisdom  ;  **  you  will  require  a  higher  in- 
centive than  human  praise,  a  more  exalted  ob- 
ject than  human  ambition,  a  principle  more  fixed 
than  human  honour."*  This  object  and  this 
principle  are  to  be  found  only  in  a  devout  and 
habitual  sense  of  the  homage  which  we  owe 
to  Him  who  made  us,  and  in  the  habitual  desire 
to  make  his  word  at  once  the  rule  of  our  con- 
duct and  the  regulating  principle  of  every  emo- 
tion of  the  heart.  Devote  yourselves  with  ea- 
ger enthusiasm  to  the  high  acquirements  of  sci- 
ence, but  cultivate  also  that  habit  of  the  mind 
by  which  science  shall  continually  lead  you. to 
the  eternal  Cause.  And,  while  you  are  taught 
to  follow  the  planet  through  the  wondrous  reg- 
ularities of  its  movements,  when  you  find  the 

*  Lord  Stanley's  Rectorial  Address  at  Glasgow  j  newspaper 
report. 


OF    THE    MIND  146 

comet,  after  being  lost  for  a  century,  returning 
at  the  appointed  period  horn  ihe  solitudes  of  its 
eccentric  orbit ;  when  you  extend  your  view  be- 
yond the  system  in  which  we  move,  and  pene- 
trate into  that  field  in  which  ten  thousand  other 
systems  revolve  around  ten  thousand  other  suns 
in  ceaseless  harmony,  oh  rest  not  in  a  cold  rec- 
ognition of  the  facts,  but  take  one  step  and  say, 
"These  are  thy  wondrous  works,  thyself  how 
wondrous ;"  and  rest  not  here,  but  take  yet  an- 
other step,  and  recognise  this  Being  as  the  wit- 
ness of  all  your  conduct,  as  the  witness  even  of 
the  moral  condition  of  the  heart;  seek  after 
purity  of  character,  for  you  cannot  go  where  you 
are  not  followed  by  that  eye ;  aspire  after  pu- 
rity of  heart,  for  that  eye  extendeth  even  there  ; 
and,  feeling  your  inability  for  this  mighty  un- 
dertaking, seek  continually  a  power  from  God ; 
a  power  which  he  alone  can  give ;  a  power  adapt- 
ed to  your  utmost  want,  and  which  is  promised 
to  every  one  that  asks  it.  In  your  progress 
through  life,  indeed,  you  will  not  fail  to  meet 
with  those  by  whom  this  momentous  truth  is 
treated  with  derision,  as  the  vision  of  fanaticism, 
unworthy  of  a  philosophical  mind.  But  never 
allow  yourselves  to  be  imposed  upon  by  names ; 
N 


146  CULTURE,   ETC.,    OF   THE    MIND. 

and  never  suppose  there  can  be  anything  un- 
philosophical  in  the  belief  that  an  influence 
should  be  exerted  on  the  mind  by  Him  who 
framed  the  wondrous  fabric :  and  be  assured  you 
follow  the  dictates  of  the  most  exalted  philoso- 
phy when  you  commit  yourselves  to  him  as  the 
guide  of  your  youth  ;  when  you  resign  your- 
selves to  that  guidance,  and  ask  that  powerful 
aid  both  for  your  conduct  through  this  life  and 
your  preparation  for  the  life  which  is  to  come. 


THINK  ON  THESE  THINGS 


THINK  ON  THESE  THINGS. 


"Finally,  brethren,  whatsoever  things  are  true,  whatsoever 
things  are  honest,  whatsoever  things  are  just,  whatsoever  things 
are  pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things  are 
of  good  report ;  if  there  be  any  virtue,  and  if  there  be  any  praise, 
think  on  these  things." — Philippians,  iv.,  8. 

When  a  man's  attention  is  directed  to  the 
solemn  inquiry,  what  is  his  moral  condition  in 
the  sight  of  God,  he  cannot  fail  to  perceive 
that  the  answer  is  chiefly  to  be  sought  for  in 
the  discipline  of  the  mind.  His  external  con- 
duct is  the  only  test  by  which  his  character 
can  be  estimated  by  his  fellow-men ;  but  this, 
it  is  obvious,  may  be  guided  by  motives  and 
principles  of  a  very  inferior  or  even  selfish  de- 
scription ;  principles  which  would  not  bear  the 
inspection  of  man,  far  less  the  scrutiny  of  Him 
who  cannot  be  deceived  by  external  appear- 
ance, but  whose  eye  looketh  directly  into  the 
heart.  This  important  consideration  is  brought 
before  us  in  the  most  forcible  manner  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  Scripture ;  and  the  solemn  truth 
is  impressed  upon  our  serious  attention,  that  a 
N2 


150  THINK   ON    THESE   THINGS. 

man  may  hold  a  fair  and  respectable  charac- 
ter in  the  estimation  of  men,  while  he  is  in  a 
state  of  moral  degradation  in  the  eye  of  God. 
Whenever  this  subject  is  referred  to  in  Scrip- 
ture, accordingly,  we  find  the  condition  of  the 
heart  viewed  as  of  equal  importance  with  a 
man's  conduct  and  character  in  life,  or  even 
brought  forward  as  holding  a  more  essential 
place  in  determining  his  condition  as  a  moral 
being.  "Keep  thy  heart  with  all  diligence," 
says  one  of  the  inspired  writers, "  for  out  of  it 
are  the  issues  of  life."  "  Let  the  wicked  for- 
sake his  way,"  says  another, "  and  the  unrigh- 
teous man  his  thoughts,  and  let  him  return  unto 
the  Lord."  When  the  Psalmist,  again,  prays 
the  Eternal  One  to  scrutinize  most  rigidly  his 
moral  condition,  it  is  by  saying,  "  Search  me, 
O  God,  and  know  my  heart ;  try  me,  and  know 
my  thoughts,  and  see  if  there  be  any  wicked 
way  in  me,  and  lead  me  in  the  way  everlast- 
ing." And  in  another  passage  by  the  same 
writer,  the  discipline  of  the  heart  is  placed 
upon  a  level  with  those  great  principles  of  ve- 
racity and  justice,  the  least  infringement  of 
which  exposes  a  man  to  the  unanimous  con- 
demnation of  his  fellow-men.     "  Who  shall  as- 


THINK    ON    THESE   THINGS.  151 

cend  into  the  hill  of  the  Lord,  and  who  shall 
stand  in  his  holy  place;  he  that  hath  clean 
hands  and  a  pure  heart,  who  hath  not  lifted 
up  his  soul  unto  vanity,  nor  sworn  deceitfully." 
** Blessed,"  says  our  Lord  himself,  "are  the 
pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God." 

In  all  these  passages  of  Scripture,  and  many 
others  of  similar  import,  there  is  distinctly  and 
fully  recognised  the  important  principle,  that 
we  have  a  power  over  the  succession  of  our 
thoughts,  and  the  subjects  to  which  they  are 
directed.  A  deep  and  solemn  responsibility 
thus  arises,  respecting  the  government  of  the 
mind  ;  and  to  every  one  who  feels,  as  he  ought, 
this  responsibility,  it  is  of  the  greatest  conse- 
quence to  keep  in  view  in  what  the  voluntary 
po-wer  over  the  mind  consists,  and  what  are 
the  principles  on  which  it  ought  to  be  exer- 
cised by  every  rational  being.  Without  this, 
a  man  may  be  lamenting  defects  in  his  mental 
condition  which  refer  to  emotions  over  which 
he  has  no  direct  control,  and  may  thus  waste 
himself  in  useless  regrets,  instead  of  directing 
his  earnest  efforts  to  those  mental  processes, 
and  those  points  of  mental  discipline  over 
which  he  can  really  exert  a  power.     He  may 


152  THINK   ON    THESE    THINGS. 

be  lamenting  his  want  of  faith  and  confidence 
in  God,  of  love  to  him,  of  submission  to  his  will, 
and  delight  in  his  service,  while  he  is  neglect- 
ing that  diligent  and  habitual  direction  of  the 
thoughts  to  the  character,  the  works,  and  the 
will  of  God,  from  which,  under  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  these  emotions  naturally  spring. 

On  this  important  subject,  a  beautiful  har- 
mony pervades  the  economy  of  the  mind.  The 
emotions  of  the  heart,  properly  so  called,  are 
mental  conditions  over  which  we  have  not  a 
direct  power;  we  cannot  call  them  forth  at 
our  will,  however  much  we  may  desire  to  ex- 
perience them,  and  however  much  we  may 
feel  that  in  them  really  consists  the  healthy 
condition  of  the  soul.  But  these  emotions  are 
called  into  action  by  certain  truths,  when  these 
truths  have  acquired  that  established  place 
which  their  nature  demands  in  the  economy 
of  the  mind  ;  that  is,  when  they  have  been  the 
subjects  of  steady  attention  and  serious  reflec- 
tion, adapted  to  their  supreme  importance. 
Now  this  is  a  process  of  the  understanding 
over  which  every  man  feels  that  he  has  a  pow- 
er. He  can  direct  his  thoughts  to  any  subject 
he  wills — can  keep  them  directed  to  it  for  such 


THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS.  153 

a  period  as  he  pleases,  and  withdraw  them  at 
his  will.  He  has  within  his  reach  the  means 
of  acquiring  the  knowledge  of  those  truths 
which,  as  a  moral  and  responsible  being,  most 
of  all  concern  him ;  and  he  has  the  power  to 
make  these  truths  the  subject  of  that  calm  at- 
tention and  serious  reflection,  which  may  lead 
to  their  natural  and  legitimate  influence  over 
the  economy  of  the  heart.  In  these  great  con- 
cerns, also,  he  is  encouraged  to  look  for  the 
mighty  Spirit  of  all  truth,  who  alone  has  pow- 
er to  purify  the  heart,  and  to  produce  a  con- 
dition of  the  moral  system  which  diffuses  it- 
self, by  inseparable  consequence,  over  the 
whole  character  and  conduct.  It  is  thus  that, 
according  to  the  statement  of  Scripture,  "  out 
of  the  heart  are  the  issues  of  life ;"  and  it  is 
thus  alone  that  the  character  can  be  framed 
and  regulated  in  a  manner  worthy  of  a  moral 
being.  When  a  man's  attention  is  directed 
only  to  his  conduct  in  life,  he  probably  looks 
in  a  great  measure  to  the  approbation  of  men ; 
that  culture  of  the  character  which  has  re- 
spect to  the  approbation  of  God,  must  have  its 
origin  in  the  heart. 

Such,  in  a  striking  manner,  was  the  experi- 


154  THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS. 

ence  of  the  Psalmist,  whose  mind  had  thus 
been  disciplined  to  an  habitual  contemplation 
of  the  character  and  the  will  of  God.  "  O  how 
I  love  thy  law:  it  is  my  meditation  all  the  day.'* 
"  Thy  word  have  I  hid  in  my  heart,  that  I  might 
not  sin  against  thee."  "  When  I  remember 
thee  upon  my  bed,  and  meditate  on  thee  in  the 
night  watches — in  the  shadow  of  thy  wings 
will  I  rejoice."  And  it  was  by  such  a  process 
of  the  understanding,  directing  his  thoughts  to 
this  highest  of  all  subjects,  that  he  experienced 
those  wondrous  effects  of  the  truth  on  the 
whole  economy  both  of  his  understanding  and 
his  heart,  which  he  has  described  in  a  manner 
so  striking  and  so  comprehensive :  "  The  law 
of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  converting  the  soul ;  the 
testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure,  making  wise 
the  simple  ;  the  statutes  of  the  Lord  are  right, 
rejoicing  the  heart ;  the  commandment  of  the 
Lord  is  pure,  enlightening  the  eyes." 

From  this  view  of  the  subject,  we  must  per- 
ceive the  deep  and  important  influence  which 
is  exercised  over  our  condition  by  the  govern- 
ment of  the  thoughts.  It,  in  fact,  lies  at  the 
foundation  of  the  whole  character,  both  intel- 
lectual and  moral ;  and  the  man  who  would 


THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS.  155 

apply  himself  to  this  high  pursuit  with  an  at- 
tention adequate  to  its  supreme  importance, 
must  begin  by  a  diligent  exercise  of  the  pow- 
er which  he  feels  that  he  possesses  over  the 
current  of  his  thoughts,  and  a  careful  selection 
of  the  subjects  to  which  they  are  habitually  di- 
rected. The  leading  defects  which  attach  to 
individuals  on  this  great  subject  are  probably 
referable  to  three  heads. 

I.  An  absolute  engrossment  of  the  mind  with 
things  in  themselves  valuable  and  important, 
but  of  a  temporal  or  external  character — 
whether  the  details  of  business,  or  the  pursuits 
of  science ;  while  no  leisure  is  left,  and  no  in- 
clination cherished,  for  those  great  inquiries 
which  relate  to  a  man's  own  moral  condition, 
or  to  the  supreme  importance  of  future  and 
eternal  things. 

II.  A  habit  of  listless  vacuity  or  inactivity 
of  mind,  which  leads  it  to  be  engrossed  by  ab- 
solute trifles,  and  prevents  it  from  applying  it- 
self to  any  subject  with  energy  or  interest. 

III.  A  habit  of  dwelling  in  a  world  of  ima- 
gination, amid  visions  of  fancy  and  waking 
dreams,  which  occupy  the  mind  in  all  those  in- 
tervals in  which  it  can  escape  from  the  neces- 


156  THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS. 

sary  engagements  of  life,  to  the  exclusion  of 
those  various  objects  of  high  importance  to 
which  such  intervals  ought  to  be  devoted. 

For  the  correction  qf  such  mental  habits  as 
these,  there  are  tv^o  leading  objects  to  which 
the  attention  ought  to  be  carefully  and  steadily 
directed.  The  first  is,  to  control  and  regulate 
the  current  of  the  thoughts,  so  as  to  cultivate 
the  habit  of  having  them  steadily  and  continu- 
ously directed  to  subjects  of  adequate  impor- 
tance. We  thus  contend  equally  against  the 
two  great  evils  of  listless  frivolity  and  vacuity 
of  mind  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other, 
of  having  the  mind  occupied  with  visions  of 
the  fancy  entirely  unworthy  of  its  high  desti- 
ny. This  control  of  the  thoughts,  indeed,  re- 
quires an  effort,  and  to  those  who  have  long 
neglected  it,  the  effort  at  first  is  great.  But  it 
becomes  easier  the  longer  it  is  pursued,  until  it 
is  gradually  fixed  into  a  habit — the  invaluable 
habit  of  a  disciplined  mind.  For  promoting 
^  the  cultivation  of  this  habit,  the  second  great 
object  to  which  I  have  referred  is,  to  have  al- 
ways in  view,  or,  if  I  may  use  such  an  expres- 
sion, within  reach,  subjects  of  thought  of  ade- 
quate importance,  to  which  the  mind  may  read- 


THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS.  157 

ily  and  easily  betake  itself  in  all  intervals  of 
disengagement  from  the  necessary  avocations 
of  life.  To  one  who  feels  the  deep  importance 
of  the  subject,  and  is  anxious  to  pursue  this 
course  of  mental  discipline,  the  great  difficulty 
that  presents  itself  is  to  fix  upon  a  plan  for 
doing  so,  with  a  proper  choice  of  subjects  of 
reflection,  and  a  proper  distribution  of  them, 
so  that  the  mind  may  be  duly  occupied,  and 
yet  not  engrossed  with  any  one  subject  to  the 
exclusion  of  others  that  may  be  of  equal  val- 
ue. Now,  in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  along  with 
numerous  exhortations  to  this  regulation  of  the 
thoughts,  we  have  various  and  most  important 
instructions  in  regard  to  the  manner  of  con- 
ducting it,  and  the  subjects  of  high  importance 
to  which  the  thoughts  ought  to  be  directed  as 
their  chief  and  highest  object  of  serious  atten- 
tion. The  passage  before  us  contains  a  beau- 
tiful code  of  rules  for  this  purpose,  opening 
up  a  wide  and  comprehensive  field  for  mental 
exercise  of  the  highest  and  noblest  kind,  while, 
at  the  same  time,  the  various  subjects  are  so 
placed  before  us  as  to  point  out  their  relation  to 
each  other,  and  the  degree  and  order  in  which 
the  mind  ought  to  be  directed  to  each  of  them. 
O 


158  THINK   ON    THESE    THINGS. 

I.  The  first  of  these  objects  to  which  we  are 
exhorted  to  direct  the  serious  attention  of  the 
mind  is  Truth :  "  Think  on  whatsoever  things 
are  truer  The  operation  of  the  mind  in  re- 
gard to  truth  is  twofold;  The  first  is  to  ac- 
quire a  knowledge  of  the  truths,  and  to  exam- 
ine the  evidence  on  which  we  are  to  receive 
them.  In  respect  to  those  great  truths  which 
concern  our  relation  to  God,  this  leads  us  to  a 
diligent  study  of  the  word  of  God,  as  well  as 
of  his  works — and  a  care  and  diligence  to  ex- 
amine what  opinions  we  have  formed  on  this 
supreme  inquiry,  and  on  what  grounds  we  have 
formed  them ;  what  are  the  objects  of  belief 
which  we  have  received  as  true,  and  why  have 
we  done  so.  Having,  by  such  a  careful  ex- 
ercise of  the  powders  of  attention  and  judgment, 
acquired  a  knowledge  and  a  conviction  of  the 
truths,  the  next  exercise  of  the  mind  is  to 
make  them  subjects  of  thought  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  they  may  produce  their  proper  influ- 
ence on  the  moral  condition.  Now  there  may- 
be much  knowledge  of  truth,  and  much  care- 
ful study  of  evidence,  while  this  great  mental 
exercise  is  neglected  ;  and  the  most  important 
truths  may  thus  be  received  as  matters  of  cold 


THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS.  159 

and  barren  speculation,  yielding  no  results,  and 
exerting  no  influence  over  the  character.  It  is 
against  this  mental  condition  that  the  exhorta- 
tion of  the  apostle  seems  to  be  directed,  call- 
ing upon  us  not  only  to  know  the  truths,  but 
to  make  them  subjects  of  thought  and  reflec- 
tion, so  that  they  may  fix  their  influence  on  the 
moral  economy  of  the  mind.  Do  we  believe 
it  to  be  a  truth  that  we  are  every  moment  ex- 
posed to  the  inspection  of  a  being  of  infinite 
perfection  and  infinite  purity,  from  whose  all- 
seeing  eye  nothing  can  cover  us,  and  to  whom 
even  the  thoughts  of  the  heart  and  the  whole 
moral  condition  within  are  constantly  open ;  if 
we  make  this  solemn  truth  the  subject  of  fre- 
quent and  serious  thought,  what  influence  must 
it  not  produce  upon  the  discipline  of  the  heart, 
and  the  whole  of  our  conduct  in  every  rela- 
tion of  life.  No  man  can  put  away  from  him 
the  truth  that  a  day  is  fast  approaching  when 
he  must  lie  down  in  the  grave ;  but  it  is  also  a 
truth,  that  another  day  will  come,  with  equal 
certainty,  when,  at  the  voice  of  the  Eternal 
One,  the  graves  shall  yield  up  their  dead,  and 
those  who  have  slept  in  death  shall  arise  to 
judgment.    Did  we  think  of  this  truth  with  a 


160  THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS. 

seriousness  in  any  degree  adapted  to  its  sol- 
ennn  interest,  and  make  the  reflection  a  fre- 
quent and  habitual  exercise  of  the  mind,  it 
could  not  fail  to  act  upon  every  rational  man 
with  a  power  which  would  be  irresistible.  It 
could  not  fail  to  make  him  feel  the  value  of  the 
soul  which  is  to  live  for  ever ;  and  to  force  upon 
him  the  habitual  conviction,  how  trivial  in  im- 
portance are  the  highest  concerns  of  time,  and 
how  big  with  momentous  interest  are  the  con- 
cerns of  eternity. 

The  exercise  of  a  regulated  mind  in  think- 
ing on  such  truths  as  these  is  something  wide- 
ly different  from  a  simple  acknowledgment  of 
them  as  a  part  of  our  belief,  with  whatever 
sincerity  this  may  be  made.  It  is  to  place 
them  before  tis  by  that  realizing  act  of  the  mind, 
by  which  things  future  and  things  unseen  are 
invested  with  the  power  of  actual  and  present 
existence.  It  is  by  an  act  of  imagination  or 
conception  to  represent  to  ourselves  the  actual 
and  dread  solemnities  of  that  day,  when  the 
last  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  those  who  have 
so  long  slept  in  death  shall  come  forth  togeth- 
er as  living  men,  and  stand  before  God.  It  is 
to  realize  the  appearance  of  the  great  white 


THINK   ON    THESE    THINGS.  161 

throne,  and  him  who  shall  sit  upon  it,  from 
whose  face  the  earth  and  the  heavens  shall  flee 
away.  It  is  to  place  ourselves  before  him  in 
the  attitude  of  those  who  are  to  render  their 
account — to  suppose  the  question  put  to  us — 
and  to  ask  ourselves  seriously  what  we  shall 
answer.  It  is  to  represent  our  whole  moral 
history,  and  all  the  secrets  of  our  hearts,  then 
disclosed,  and  conscience  awaking,  with  all  its 
power  to  condemn,  independently  of  the  sen- 
tence of  the  omniscient  Judge.  Such  is  the 
exercise  of  a  disciplined  mind  in  reference  to 
momentous  truths  like  these ;  and  such  is  the 
mental  process  which  is  really  suited  to  our 
condition  as  moral  beings.  When  we  thus 
place  the  great  realities  of  things  future  and 
unseen  against  the  lying  vanities  of  life  and 
against  the  empty  visions  of  a  frivolous  mind — 
this  is  to  meet  the  spirit  of  the  apostle's  exhor- 
tation," to  think  on  whatsoever  things  are  true." 
To  a  mind  which  has  been  disciplined  to  this 
sound  and  healthy  exercise  of  its  power,  wide 
is  the  field  of  truth  in  which  it  may  have  oc- 
cupation, at  once  the  most  instructive  and  the 
most  interesting.  From  the  planet  revolving 
in  its  appointed  orbit,  to  the  economy  of  the  in- 
02 


162  THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS, 

sect  that  flutters  in  the  sunbeam,  it  will  find 
matter  for  studying,  with  renewed  admiration 
and  wonder,  the  perfections  of  Him  of  whom 
they  witness.  In  the  course  of  Providence  it 
will  trace  the  workings  of  the  same  almighty 
wisdom  and  power,  and  the  moral  attributes 
of  his  character  will  be  contemplated  with  still 
higher  feelings  of  adoration  as  they  are  dis- 
played in  the  economy  of  redemption  through 
"  God  manifest  in  the  flesh."  But  the  exercise 
of  such  a  mind  in  regard  to  the  eternal  incom- 
prehensible One  has  effects  of  a  more  person- 
al kind,  and  bearing  directly  upon  its  own  mor- 
al condition.  It  leads  a  man  to  place  himself 
as  in  the  constant  and  immediate  presence  of 
God,  and  to  feel  that  his  whole  conduct  in  life, 
and  the  most  secret  desires,  motives,  and  im- 
aginations of  the  heart,  are  at  all  times  open 
to  Divine  inspection.  It  thus  impresses  upon 
him  the  important  inquiry  whether  his  condi- 
tion within  will  bear  the  scrutiny  of  that  eye. 
In  every  decision  of  life,  it  leads  him  to  inquire 
what  will  be  pleasing  to  God ;  and,  feeling  con- 
tinually his  own  weakness  and  his  liability  to 
err,  it  leads  him  to  look  habitually  for  Divine 
direction  and  Divine  strength  to  carry  him 


THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS.  163 

through  all  the  dangers  and  difficulties  of  life, 
and  to  prepare  and  purify  him  for  the  life  which 
is  to  come. 

There  are  still  other  mental  exercises  by 
which  we  may  be  profitably  occupied  in  think- 
ing on  things  that  are  true.  There  is  a  rest- 
less, active  faculty  of  the  mind,  which  is  ever 
on  the  wing,  ranging  from  scene  to  scene,  often 
with  little  restraint  from  reason  or  truth.  To 
what  important  purpose  might  this  faculty  be 
applied,  were  it  sternly  trained  to  confine  its 
excursions  to  "  things  which  are  true."  By 
means  of  it  we  might  convey  ourselves  back 
to  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Judea,  and  place 
ourselves  in  actual  companionship  with  the 
meek  and  lowly  Jesus.  We  might  listen  to 
his  instructions,  and  hear  him  talk  by  the  way, 
till  our  hearts  burned  within  us.  We  might 
accompany  him  through  his  unwearied  course 
of  devoted  benevolence  and  kindness,  till  we 
felt  ourselves  constrained  to  follow  his  steps. 
We  might  attend  him  to  Calvary,  and  witness 
the  accomplishment  of  that  triumph  by  which 
he  abolished  death,  and  brought  in  everlasting 
righteousness.  We  might  be  early  at  the  sep- 
ulchre, and  hear  the  angel  proclaim  the  won- 


164  THINK    ON    THESE   THINGS. 

drous  tidings,  "  he  is  not  here ;  he  is  risen,  as 
ne  said ;  come,  see  the  place  where  the  Lord 
jay."  We  might  follow  him  farther  still.  We 
might  enter,  in  exalted  conception,  even  into 
ihe  upper  sanctuary,  and  present  ourselves 
among  the  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  of 
the  redeemed  who  are  around  the  throne,  and 
join  in  their  triumphant  song,  "  Worthy  is  the 
Lamb  that  was  slain,"  till  earth  and  all  its  con- 
cerns vanish  from  our  view.  Oh !  what  a  pow- 
er might  be  produced  upon  all  our  steps  on 
earth  by  s6ch  exercises  as  these — what  an  in- 
fluence might  the  mind  bring  down  upon  itself, 
were  it  thus  disciplined  to  the  habit  of  "  think- 
ing on  whatsoever  things  are  true." 

Such  is  a  slight  and  imperfect  outline  of  the 
nature  of  those  subjects  of  thought  to  which 
the  apostle  exhorts  us  to  direct  the  mind.  The 
exhortation  is  of  a  most  comprehensive  char- 
acter. It  is  calculated  to  occupy  the  mind  with 
high  and  important  truths,  to  the  exclusion  of 
those  frivolous  follies  and  vain  imaginations 
which  are  so  ready  to  fill  that  dark  chamber 
of  imagery  of  which  every  one  is  conscious 
who  looks  within.  It  is  calculated  to  rouse  to 
active  and  serious  thought  the  dead  and  dor- 


THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS.  165 

mant  feelings  of  those  whose  minds  have  never 
been  disciplined  to  the  habit  of  thinking  on 
any  subject  with  intense  attention;  and,  far- 
ther, there  is  a  peculiar  and  comprehensive 
power  in  the  term  "  whatsoever  things."  This 
reminds  us  not  only  to  be  careful  to  have  the 
mind  occupied  with  truth,  but  to  have  it  direct- 
ed with  suitable  care  to  all  the  truths  which  de- 
mand our  attention  as  immortal  beings.  There 
is  also  a  peculiar  force  in  the  expression  "think 
on  these  things ;"  for  the  word  which  is  trans- 
lated think  has  in  the  original  a  most  compre- 
hensive import.  It  means,  not  simply  to  think, 
in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the  term,  on  the 
matters  which  are  the  subjects  of  thought,  but 
to  consider  them,  to  judge  of  them,  to  reason 
upon  them,  and  draw  conclusions  from  them. 
The  expression  thus  implies  a  continued  and 
intense  application  of  the  mind  to  the  truths, 
so  that  we  may  deduce  from  them  all  the  con- 
clusions and  principles  which  they  are  calcu- 
lated to  yield  as  matters  of  faith,  and  all  that 
influence  which  they  are  fitted  to  produce  upon 
the  emotions  of  the  heart,  and  the  w^hole  con- 
duct of  life.  Such  and  so  extensive  appears 
to  be  the  mental  process  which  the  apostle  en- 


166  THINK    ON    THESE   THINGS. 

joins,  and  the  field  of  mental  exercise  which 
he  presents  to  us,  when  he  calls  upon  us  to 
•*  think  on  whatsoever  things  are  true.** 

II.  The  exercise  of  the  mind,  as  applied  to 
such  varied  and  momentous  truths,  must  not 
be  confined  to  a  mere  speculative  acknowledg- 
ment of  them  as  matters  of  belief.  It  must  be 
carefully  extended  to  that  mental  condition  by 
which  the  truths  so  received  shall  be  habitual- 
ly used  as  great  moral  causes,  calculated  to 
exert  a  directing  and  controlling  power  over 
the  whole  economy  of  the  heart  and  the  char- 
acter. This  view  of  the  subject  has  been  al- 
ready referred  to.  It  seems  to  be  more  par- 
ticularly intended  by  the  second  part  of  the 
system  of  mental  discipline  laid  down  by  the 
apostle,  "  think  on  whatsoever  things  are  hoTk- 
est:' 

As  the  part  of  the  apostle's  exhortation  ino- 
mediately  succeeding  this  calls  us  to  think  on 
whatsoever  things  are  just — referring  clearly 
to  our  conduct  towards  our  fellow-men — I  am 
disposed  to  regard  the  term  honest  as  express- 
ing what  may  be  called  honesty,  integrity,  or 
consistency  of  mind.  Taken  in  connexion 
with  the  former  exhortation,  to  think  on  what- 


THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS.  167 

soever  things  are  irue^  it  seems  to  imply  an 
honest  and  sincere  desire  to  carry  out  the 
truths  so  contemplated  to  all  their  consequen- 
ces and  tendencies  to  ourselves  as  moral  beings. 
Thus,  in  our  Lord's  parable  of  the  sower,  the 
seed  which  fell  into  good  ground  and  brought 
forth  abundant  fruit  is  said  to  represent  a  man 
who  receives  the  truth  into  an  honest  and  good 
heart;  that  is,  a  mind  disposed  carefully  to 
meditate  on  the  truths  so  received,  and  sincere- 
ly desirous  of  carrying  them  into  all  the  effects 
which  they  ought  to  produce  upon  the  char- 
acter and  conduct.  Such  is  the  discipline  of 
a  mind  which  "  brings  forth  fruit  with  pa- 
tience." Whoever  looks  seriously  into  the 
processes  of  his  own  mind  will  be  compelled 
to  acknowledge  how  prone  we  are  to  neglect 
this  most  important  part  of  mental  discipline. 
We  turn  our  attention  to  truths ;  we  study  their 
evidence,  and  take  them  as  a  part  of  our  creed ; 
we  learn  to  argue  in  their  defence,  and  to  de- 
tect wuth  critical  precision  sophistries  which 
are  opposed  to  them ;  but  how  much  and  how 
often  do  we  fail  in  the  more  important  exer- 
cise of  pressing  home  the  truths  in  all  their 
bearings  upon  ourselves.     How  do  we  fail  in 


168  THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS. 

pressing  the  solemn  inquiry,  if  these  things  are 
indeed  true,  what  manner  of  persons  ought  we 
to  be ;  and  are  we,  in  the  condition  of  our  hearts 
and  the  whole  of  our  conduct  in  life,  such  as 
becometh  those  who  really  believe  them?  Do 
I  think  of  the  solemn  truths  which  relate  to  the 
character  of  God — and  his  all-seeing  eye  being 
ever  upon  me ;  then  what  influence  hath  this 
consideration  upon  my  moral  feelings  ?  Do  I 
think  of  a  coming  judgment,  and  that,  stripped 
of  all  disguise,  I  must  bear  my  part  in  the  dread 
solemnities  of  that  day — how  seriously  and  how 
frequently  do  I  ask  myself,  how  shall  I  appear? 
A  devout  and  habitual  inquiry  of  this  descrip- 
tion seems  to  constitute  that  honesty  of  mind 
which  the  apostle  here  enjoins ;  and  he  then 
goes  on,  in  a  very  striking  manner,  to  impress 
the  consideration  of  those  leading  points  of 
character  which  ought  to  be  the  habitual  aim 
of  every  one  whose  mind  has  been  thus  disci- 
plined. These  are  referred  to  four  heads — 
justice,  purity,  benevolence,  and  a  kind  consid- 
eration for  the  feelings  of  other  men :  **  what- 
soever things  are  just,  whatsoever  things  are 
pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatso- 
ever things  are  of  good  report,  think  on  these 
things." 


THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS.  169 

III.  The  exhortation  to  think  on  whatsoever 
things  are  ^*W5^,  leads  a  man  to  an  anxious  con- 
sideration of  the  various  duties  which  he  owes 
to  other  men  in  every  relation  of  Hfe.  It  di- 
rects him,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  obligations 
of  justice  and  integrity,  in  every  kind  of  trans- 
action in  which  the  interests  of  others  are  con- 
cerned :  and  it  goes  mnch  farther  than  this,  ex- 
tending to  a  variety  of  circumstances,  which 
may  affect  other  men  in  their  character,  their 
feelings,  or  the  estimation  in  which  they  are 
held  by  those  around  them.  But  the  exhorta- 
tion goes  farther  still,  and  leads  a  man  not  only 
to  attend  to  the  strict  requirements  of  justice, 
when  particular  cases  are  strongly  brought  be- 
fore him,  but  he  is  to  "  think  on  these  things" — 
he  is  anxiously  to  inquire  what  are  the  duties 
which  he  owes  to  the  various  individuals  with 
whom  his  situation  brings  him  into  relation — 
and  whether  he  is  discharging  them  in  a  man- 
ner which  will  bear  the  dread  scrutiny  of  a 
Judge  of  unerring  purity  and  justice.  He 
who  carefully  and  seriously  thinks  on  whatso- 
ever things  are  just,  will  thus  rigidly  question 
himself  what  are  the  duties  which  pertain  to 
his  particular  situation,  and  how  he  is  dischar- 
P 


170  THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS. 

ging  them;  what  are  his  duties  as  a  parent,  as 
a  child,  as  a  master,  as  a  servant,  as  a  subject, 
as  a  neighbour,  as  a  friend,  as  a  person  holding 
some  situation  of  public  responsibility,  or  as 
possessed  of  wealth,  acquirements,  talents,  or 
influence,  which  give  him  the  means  of  useful- 
ness ?  In  all  such  relations,  what  degree  of  se- 
rious attention  is  he  directing  to  the  sacred 
trust  which  is  reposed  in  him?  Is  he  carefully 
employing  his  wealth,  his  talents,  his  influence, 
for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  men?  Or, 
without  any  imputation  on  his  character  for 
actual  integrity  and  justice,  is  he  wasting  his 
days  in  a  course  of  listless  indolence,  selfish 
indulgence,  or  frivolous  occupation,  far  beneath 
his  high  destiny  as  a  moral  being  ?  It  is  easy 
for  a  man  thus  to  sit  down  in  a  kind  of  respect- 
able indifference  and  self-indulgence,  without 
any  such  breach  of  his  duty  to  others  as  may 
challenge  the  notice  of  his  fellow-men.  But  a 
new  field  is  opened  to  his  view,  when,  placing 
himself  in  the  immediate  presence  of  God,  and 
in  the  light  of  an  eternal  day,  he  views  his 
various  duties,  responsibilities,  and  means  of 
usefulness,  and  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  account 
he  has  to  render  to  Him  who  searches  the  heart, 


THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS.  171 

devotes  himself  to  the   high  requirement  of 
thinking  "on  whatsoever  things  are  just." 

IV.  Apart  entirely  from  the  duties  which 
belong  to  every  man  in  the  various  relations 
of  life,  there  is  a  class  of  responsibilities  of  the 
most  solemn  kind,  which  pertain  more  imme- 
diately to  himself.  These  relate  to  his  own 
moral  condition  in  the  sight  of  Him  who  is  not 
deceived  by  external  appearance,  but  who  ri- 
gidly tries  the  motives  and  principles  within, 
and  rigidly  scrutinizes  the  condition  of  the 
heart.  The  apostle  gives  its  full  weight  to 
this  important  consideration,  when  he  calls 
upon  us  to  "think  on  whatsoever  things  are 
furer  While  the  former  part  of  his  exhorta- 
tion leads  us  to  the  duties  which  we  owe  to  our 
fellow-men,  this  directs  us,  in  a  more  especial 
manner,  to  the  relation  in  w^hich  we  stand  to 
God.  It  includes  a  wide  and  extensive  class  of 
the  moral  responsibilities  of  the  inner  man.  It 
embraces  many  qualities  of  character  of  which 
human  judgment  takes  no  cognizance,  but  which 
are  open  to  the  inspection  of  Him  who  seeth 
in  secret.  It  extends  to  the  condition  of  the 
heart,  to  the  motives  of  the  conduct,  the  direc- 
tion of  the  desires  and  affections  of  the  mind. 


,IVB 


172  THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS. 

and  to  the  trains  which  chiefly  occupy  the 
thoughts  when  intervals  of  leisure  set  them 
free  from  the  necessary  engagements  of  life. 
Are  these  such  as-  will  bear  the  inspection  of  a 
being  of  infinite  purity,  or  is  there  not  in  that 
chamber  of  imagery  much,  very  much,  which 
no  man  would  like  to  be  exposed  to  the  view 
of  his  fellow-men  ?  If  so,  does  not  the  impres- 
sion transfix  him  with  awe  when  he  remem- 
bers that  it  is  all  exposed  to  the  eye  of  God? 
Whatever  may  be  the  position  which  be  holds 
in  the  estimation  of  men,  how  can  a  man  live 
on  in  calm  indifference  when  he  feels  that  the 
discipline  of  his  mind  is  far  from  God ;  and  hovir 
can  he  fail  to  perceive  that,  if  he  wishes  to 
know  his  real  moral  aspect  in  the  sight  of  the 
Eternal  One,  he  has  only  to  look  calmly  and 
seriously  within?  And  how  can  he  fail  to  es- 
timate the  weight  and  the  importance  of  the 
apostle's  exhortation,  and  to  feel  the  extent  of 
the  truth  which  it  conveys,  that  there  can  be  no 
purity  in  the  sight  of  God  unless  the  habitual 
aim  and  desire  of  the  heart  be  to  "  think  on 
whatsoever  things  are  pure  V* 

Now  it  is  always  to  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  whole  of  the  important  exhortation  we  have 


THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS.  178 

been  considering  recognises  the  great  prin- 
ciple of  our  mental  constitution,  by  which  we 
can  exert  a  direct  control  over  the  thoughts. 
Every  one  feels  that  he  has  this  power,  how- 
ever much  he  may  neglect  its  exercise.  In 
various  parts  of  Scripture  there  is  impressed 
upon  us,  in  the  strongest  manner,  the  deep  re- 
sponsibility which  attaches  to  the  due  culture 
of  this  voluntary  power,  and  how  much  it  lies 
at  the  foundation  of  a  sound  moral  condition. 
We  are  taught  to  keep  the  heart  with  all  dili- 
gence, because  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life. 
While  the  wicked  man  is  called  upon  to  forsake 
his  way,  the  unrighteous  is,  with  equal  author- 
ity, required  to  forsake  his  thoughts,  implying 
that  the  one  of  these  moral  processes  is  under 
our  control  as  well  as  the  other.  And  we  feel 
that  it  is  so.  However  much  the  mind  may 
be  disposed  to  fly  ofl'  into  trains  of  vanity,  from 
neglect  of  a  sound  mental  culture,  we  feel  that 
we  cafi  curb  it  in  its  career  of  folly,  and  bind 
it  down  to  objects  and  trains  of  thought  more 
worthy  of  its  high  destiny.  We  know,  indeed, 
that  this  requires  an  eflTort,  and  that,  when  the 
effort  is  withdrawn,  the  mind  again  either  sinks 
into  listlessness,  or  wanders  off  into  some  train 
P2 


174  THINK    ON    THESE   THINGS. 

of  thought  which  former  habits  have  rendered 
more  congenial.  But  such  habits  have  arisen 
from  a  neglect  of  the  due  culture  of  this  im- 
portant power  which  we  possess  over  the  mind ; 
and  the  same  principle  leads  us  to  the  process 
by  which  the  habits  are  to  be  corrected — hab- 
its which  are  so  destructive  of  the  health  of  the 
mind.  This  consists  in  having  at  all  times 
ready  to  be  brought  before  it  objects  of  thought 
which  are  really  deserving  of  its  powers,  and 
of  cultivating  the  habit  of  having  the  thoughts 
directed  to  them  with  a  steady  and  continued 
attention.  Such  objects  are  to  be  found  with 
little  difficulty  in  the  works,  the  word,  and  the 
perfections  of  God  ;  and  a  special  power  from 
Heaven  is  promised  to  every  one  who  feels  the 
supreme  importance  of  this  great  undertaking, 
and  who  seeks  this  power  to  conduct  him  to 
its  accomplishment.  But  while  we  habitually 
look  for  this  power  as  essential  to  our  success 
in  this  high  design,  let  us  beware  of  imagining 
that  we  may  sit  still  in  indolence  and  await  its 
coming.  Let  us  study  diligently  the  direct 
control  which  we  have  over  the  processes  of 
the  mind  ;  let  us  observe  how  we  can  banish 
all  images  and  trains  of  thought  which  are  un- 


THINK    ON   THESE    THINGS.  175 

worthy  of  a  sound  mental  condition,  and  in- 
vite and  cherish  such  as  are  of  an  opposite 
tendency;  and  the  conviction  will  be  forced 
upon  every  rational  man,  that  his  solemn  re- 
sponsibility  is  fully  in  accordance  with  the  ac- 
tual power  which  he  possesses  over  the  pro- 
cesses of  the  mind,  when,  as  the  great  test  of 
his  moral  condition  within,  he  is  called  upon 
to  "  think  on  whatsoever  things  are  pure/' 

V.  The  last  part  of  the  exhortation  leads  us 
to  think  on  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  and 
whatsoever  things  are  of  good  report.  With- 
out entering  upon  any  minute  analysis  of  the 
different  qualities  expressed  by  these  two  terms, 
it  is  evident  that  they  are  meant  to  direct  us 
to  all  those  attributes  of  Christian  character 
and  conduct  by  which  a  devoted  servant  of 
Christ  may  make  his  light  shine  before  men, 
and  compel  them  to  glorify  his  Father  who  is 
in  heaven.  They  lead  us  to  all  those  gentle 
and  amiable  qualities  which  become  the  disci- 
ples of  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus— to  that 
spirit  which  delights  in  doing  good,  even  to  the 
evil  and  unthankful,  and  anxiously  seeks  out 
for  itself  opportunities  in  which  this  disposition 
may  be  gratified.     They  include  all  those  qual- 


176  THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS. 

ities  of  the  temper,  character,  and  conduct 
which  recommend  themselves  to  men  of  every 
class  and  of  every  name — all  that  is  meek  and 
lowly — gentle  and  easy  to  be  entreated — full 
of  mercy  and  of  good  fruits,  without  partiality 
and  without  hypocrisy.  They  include  the 
fruits  of  the  Spirit,  which  are  love,  joy,  peace, 
long-suffering,  meekness,  gentleness,  patience. 
They  extend  to  the  forgiveness  of  injuries,  and 
to  all  the  exercises  of  that  charity  which  suf- 
fereth  long  and  is  kind.  Such  qualities  are  of 
good  report  among  men  ;  there  is  no  despising 
or  perverting  them;  and  they  force  upon  all 
the  conviction  of  what  a  different  scene  the 
world  would  present,  were  the  conduct  of  the 
mass  of  mankind  regulated  by  the  high  princi- 
ple of  Christian  kindness. 

Now,  in  regard  to  all  these  attributes  of  char- 
acter and  conduct,  the  exhortation  does  not 
merely  require  us  to  practise  them  when  we 
are  placed  in  circumstances  which  directly  call 
upon  us  to  do  so,  but  we  are  to  go  in  search 
of  the  circumstances — we  are  to  "  think  on 
these  things."  We  are  diligently  to  inquire 
where  there  is  any  virtue,  where  there  is  any 
'  praise ;  who  within  our  reach  are  in  want  of 


THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS.  177 

our  kindness,  and  in  what  nnanner  we  can  best 
consult  their  comfort  and  relieve  their  distress- 
es. Are  there  within  the  sphere  of  our  influ- 
ence those  over  whom  we  might  exercise  a 
power  in  rescuing  them  from  ignorance,  fri- 
volity, or  vice — those  whom  we  might  be  in- 
strumental in  leading  to  serious  thought  on  the 
subjects  which  concern  their  eternal  peace? 
Are  there  those  to  whom  we  ought  to  exercise 
forbearance  or  forgiveness,  or  those  among 
whom  we  might  act  the  part  of  peacemakers? 
Have  we  heard  of  the  fatherless  or  the  wid- 
ows in  their  affliction  1  Has  the  slightest  no- 
tice reached  us  of  the  bereaved,  the  helpless, 
or  the  destitute  ?  Let  us  think  on  these  things ; 
let  us  think  of  their  wants,  their  sufferings,  and 
their  feelings,  till  we  make  these  feelings  in 
some  measure  our  own.  Let  us  not  wait  for 
the  call  of  importunity,  but,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  these  feelings,  hasten  to  their  aid,  cov- 
eting earnestly  the  high  design  of  entering  the 
abodes  of  sorrow  and  suffering  as  messengers 
of  mercy.  Such  was  he  who  humbled  him- 
self, and  became  a  man  of  sorrows,  and  such 
it  becomes  his  disciples  to  be.  He  has  left  us 
an  example  that  we  should  follow  his  steps, 


178  THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS. 

and  he  watches  with  a  jealous  eye  how  we  fol- 
low him.  Splendid  deeds  of  public  usefulness 
are  not  required  for  meeting  his  notice,  but 
acts  of  kindness,  done  in  a  spirit  of  devoted- 
ness  towards  himself,  to  the  weakest,  the  mean- 
est, the  humblest  of  his  people ;  "  for  verily  I 
say  unto  you,  inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it 
unto  one  of  the  least  of  these,  ye  have  done 
it  unto  me." 

The  whole  of  this  important  subject  partic- 
ularly deserves  the  serious  attentiori  of  the 
young.  That  regulation  of  the  thoughts  which 
is  so  essential  to  a  sound  moral  condition  is  in 
a  remarkable  degree  under  the  influence  of 
habit ;  and  the  manner  in  which  this  habit  is 
cultivated  in  early  life  exerts  a  deep  and  vital 
influence  over  the  whole  character.  Study, 
then,  with  anxious  care,  those  processes  of 
thought  of  which  you  are  conscious  when  you 
look  within.  Observe  how  you  can,  by  a 
steady  effort,  direct  the  thoughts  to  any  sub- 
ject you  please,  and  observe  how,  when  this 
eff'ort  is  withdrawn,  they  wander  off'  into  fri- 
volities and  follies.  Remark  how  much  time  is 
often  allowed  to  go  to  waste,  while  the  mind 
is  either  sunk  in  listless  apathy,  or  engrossed 


TUINK    ON    THESE    THINGS.  179 

by  trifles  no  better  than  dreams,  and  how  it  is 
thus  incapacitated  or  indisposed  for  those  inqui- 
ries of  infinite  and  eternal  moment  which  claim 
its  first  and  highestregard.  Submit  not  thus  to 
be  the  sport  and  the  victim  of  every  wild  de- 
lusion that  fancy  frames,  but  devote  yourselves 
determinedly  to  the  high  design  of  having  the 
processes  of  thought  under  stern  and  rigid  con- 
trol. Select  with  care  the  subjects  to  which 
they  ought  to  be  directed,  and  cultivate  the 
habit  of  directing  them  to  these  with  steady 
and  continued  attention.  The  practice  will  be- 
come easier  the  longer  it  is  pursued,  until  it  be- 
comes the  confirmed  habit  of  the  mind  ;  and  it 
is  a  habit  which  will  diffuse  an  influence  of  the 
most  important  kind,  both  on  the  tranquillity  of 
the  mind  itself,  and  the  culture  of  its  highest 
and  noblest  faculties.  This  influence  will  be 
felt  in  reference  to  every  pursuit  to  which  you 
can  direct  your  attention  ;  but  our  present  ob- 
ject is  its  bearing  upon  the  highest  of  all  con- 
cerns— that  which  relates  to  the  culture  of  the 
soul  for  the  life  which  is  to  come.  In  this  view 
of  the  subject,  there  are  two  points  of  mental 
discipline  to  which  I  would  more  particularly 
direct  your  attention. 


180  THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS. 

L  Cultivate  the  habit  of  having  the  mind 
under  the  influence  of  the  things  which  are 
not  seen.  Amid  the  daily  engagements  of  life, 
whether  occupied  by  its  business,  or  distracted 
by  its  frivolities  and  follies,  how  remarkably 
is  the  mind  bound  down  to  the  power  of  objects 
of  sense.  But  know  ye  not  that  there  are  ob- 
jects of  another  class — solemn  realities,  certain 
though  unseen,  which  claim  your  first  and  high- 
est regard?  Know  ye  not  there  is  an  eye 
that  never  sleeps,  which  follows  you  through 
every  step  of  your  journey  of  life — that  there 
is  a  world  unseen,  which  is  peopled  by  myri- 
ads who  have  finished  their  earthly  pilgrim- 
age ?  Know  ye  not  that  a  day  is  approaching 
with  fearful  rapidity  when  all  w^ho  move  in  the 
busy  scene  around  you  shall  be  silent  in  death, 
and  that  another  day  will  come  with  equal  cer- 
tainty, when,  at  the  voice  of  the  Eternal  One, 
the  dead  shall  arise  incorruptible,  and  small 
and  great  shall  stand  before  God  ?  And  there 
is  a  heavenly  state  where  naught  that  is  un- 
clean can  enter,  which  is  gladdened  by  the  im- 
mediate presence  of  God,  and  where  the  glo- 
rified spirits  around  the  throne  find  their  chief 
enjoyment  in  rendering  homage  to  him  who 


THINK    ON    THESE   THINGS.  181 

redeemed  them  to  God  by  his  blood.  Are 
there  not  some  whom  you  loved  when  on  earth 
who  have  joined  that  blessed  assembly  ?  and 
do  your  thoughts  never  follow  them  into  the 
state  of  purity  and  peace  on  which  they  have 
entered?  Do  you  not  seek  to  join  them  in  their 
new  and  refined  enjoyments  ?  and  do  you  not 
spurn  from  you  tne  earth  and  all  its  offered 
pleasures,  while  you  thus,  by  the  wondrous 
power  of  faith,  reunite  yourselves  to  those 
whom  you  love  ?  Alas  !  that  the  mind  should 
be  bound  down  to  the  slavery  of  objects  of 
sense,  when  it  is  endowed  with  powers  to  make 
these  great  realities  its  own.  Alas  !  that  it 
should  grovel  amid  the  dust  of  earth,  when  it 
can  thus  ascend  into  the  upper  sanctuary  and 
into  the  immediate  presence  of  God,  and  bring 
down  from  thence  an  influence  adapted  alike 
to  the  duties,  the  difficulties,  and  the  troubles 
of  life,  and  a  light  that  shall  shine  upon  every 
step  of  the  path  which  leads  to  this  everlast- 
ing inheritance. 

Seek,  then,  earnestly  the  high  attainment  of 
having  the  mind  thus  habitually  under  the  in- 
fluence of  unseen  and  eternal  things.  Seek  to 
feel  all  the  actual  realizing  impression  of  the 

Q 


182  THINK   ON    THESE    THINGS. 

presence  of  God — the  holiness  of  his  character 
— the  purity  of  his  law — and  his  all-seeing  eye 
following  you  in  every  step  of  life.  Retire  oft 
from  the  tumult  of  the  world,  and  think  how 
rapidly  life  is  passing  on,  and  how  soon  it  will 
be  over ;  think  on  the  feelings  of  the  bed  of 
death ;  think  on  the  dread  solemnity  of  the 
moment  when  the  immortal  spirit  shall  return 
to  him  who  gave  it ;  follow  it,  by  intense  con- 
ception, beyond  the  boundary  which  divides 
time  from  eternity ;  think  on  the  scene  which 
will  then  burst  upon  its  view — the  wondrous 
disclosures  of  that  fearful  moment — and  the 
eternity  that  lies  beyond  it.  Well  might  the 
apostle  confine  himself  to  the  short  and  simple 
exhortation,  "  Think  on  these  things ;"  for  if 
they  were  thought  on  in  a  manner  in  any  de- 
gree adequate  to  their  overwhelming  interest, 
their  effect  upon  the  whole  conduct  and  char- 
acter  could  not  fail — the  serious  inquiry  could 
not  but  promptly  follow,  "  What  manner  of 
persons  ought  we  to  be." 

11.  Cultivate  the  habit  of  rigidly  inquiring 
into  your  own  moral  condition.  This  must  be 
considered  as  one  of  the  most  essential  acquire- 
ments of  a  disciplined  mind — as  of  the  most 


THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS.  183 

vital  importance  to  the  health  of  the  soul.  But 
it  is  an  exercise  for  which  the  mind  feels  little 
inclination — which  it  is  not  disposed  to  press 
with  the  closeness  which  it  requires — and  from 
which,  in  fact,  it  would  gladly  escape.  It  can 
therefore  be  accomplished  only  by  determined 
resolution,  under  a  due  sense  of  its  eternal 
moment,  by  firmly  and  distinctly  putting  cer- 
tain questions  to  ourselves,  and  by  firmly  and 
distinctly  framing  to  ourselves  the  answers. 
What  are  my  leading  objects  in  this  life  which 
is  hastening  to  a  close,  and  what  influence  over 
•them  have  the  dread  realities  of  a  life  which 
is  to  come  ?  What  are  the  leading  motives  of 
my  actions  ?  How  far  are  they  guided  by  a 
desire  to  promote  my  own  enjoyment  or  ad- 
vantage, or  to  procure  the  approbation  of  men ; 
and  what  instances  can  I  trace  in  which  they 
are  guided  by  a  simple  impression  of  duty  to 
God,  or  the  power  of  devotedness  and  love  to 
the  Redeemer?  How  am  I  discharging  the 
various  duties  which  belong  to  the  particular 
situation  in  which  I  am  placed,  and  how  am  I 
improving  the  means  and  opportunities  of 
usefulness  which  that  situation  aflfords  me? 
When  called  to  account  speciaUy  and  individ- 


184  THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS. 

ually  for  each  and  all  of  these,  what  shall  I 
answer  ?  What  is  the  moral  condition  of  the 
heart?  What  impression  do  I  perceive  there 
of  the  presence  of  God,  and  a  sense  of  the  Sa- 
viour's love — what  feeling  of  the  value  of  the 
soul,  and  the  realities  of  an  eternal  world  ? 
What  are  the  chains  of  images  and  currents 
of  thought  which  chiefly  occupy  the  mind,  and 
which  seem  to  rise  most  spontaneously  there 
whenever  the  attention  is  set  free  from  the 
necessary  engagements  of  life  ?  Are  they  such 
as  will  bear  the  inspection  of  that  Being  of 
unspotted  purity  whose  eye  traces  them  all? 
Are  they  inclined  to  rise  to  things  above,  or  to 
be  engrossed  with  the  trifles  of  earth  ?  Are 
they  disposed  to  grasp  at  things  w^hich  are 
true,  or  to  luxuriate  in  listless  indolence  amid 
visions  and  fancies  as  wild  and  as  empty  as 
dreams  ?  What  evidence  do  I  perceive  of  a 
progress  in  character — of  an  advancement  in 
holiness  of  heart  and  of  life — of  an  increasing 
preparation  for  the  solemn  hour  when  my  state 
of  moral  discipline  shall  close  forever  ?  What 
reason  have  I  to  believe  that  I  am  at  peace 
with  God,  and  what  are  my  hopes  for  a  life 
which  is  to  come  ?     What  fruit  am  I  bringing 


THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS.  185 

forth  to  the  glory  of  God — what  conformity 
am  I  acquiring  to  the  example  of  Jesus  ?  Am 
I  living  to  myself,  or  am  I  living  to  God  ?  Am 
I  living  for  time, or  am  I  living  for  eternity? 

Let  such  questions  as  these  be  firmly  and 
distinctly  proposed,  and  let  them  be  firmly  and 
distinctly  answered.  From  the  moment  that 
such  an  exercise  becomes  the  calm  and  estab- 
lished habit  of  the  mind,  a  new  train  of  views 
and  feelings  will  arise,  to  which  it  was  former- 
ly a  stranger,  and  with  a  sense  of  astonish- 
ment that  they  were  so  little  felt  before.  The 
disclosure,  indeed,  will  be  fraught  with  matter 
for  deep  humility  and  self-condemnation ;  but 
this  is  the  healthy  attitude  of  a  soul  as  it  seeks 
to  return  to  God.  A  new  existence  now  opens 
before  its  reviving  powers,  as  it  learns  to  rise 
above  the  influence  of  objects  of  sense — as  it 
learns  habitually  to  feel  the  presence  and  the 
perfections  of  God,  and  to  value  the  rich  pro- 
visions of  his  word,  and  the  mighty  power  of 
prayer.  At  each  step  which  it  takes  in  this 
new  life,  indeed,  it  feels  more  deeply  its  want 
of  a  righteousness  which  is  not  in  itself,  and 
its  need  of  a  power  which  is  not  in  man,  to 
carry  forward  the  great  work  of  preparing  the 
Q2 


186  THINK   ON    THESE    THINGS. 

immortal  being  for  a  life  that  is  to  come.  But 
the  mind  thus  aroused  to  a  sense  of  its  moral 
necessities  is  met  by  the  wondrous  adaptations 
of  the  Gospel  of  peace,  and  a  voice  from  heav- 
en hails  the  aMrakening  spirit  with  the  tidings 
of  redemption. 


THE 


CONTEST  AND  THE  ARMOUR. 


THE 


CONTEST  AND  THE  ARMOUR. 


"  Finally,  my  brethren,  be  strong  in  the  Lord  and  in  the  pow- 
er of  his  might.  Put  on  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye  may 
be  able  to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  devil.  For  we  wrestle 
not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities,  against 
powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world — against 
spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places.  Wherefore  take  unto  you 
the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  withstand  in 
the  evil  day,  and  having  done  all,  to  stand.  Stand,  therefore, 
having  your  loins  girt  about  with  truth,  and  having  on  the  breast- 
plate of  righteousne^ss,  and  your  feet  shod  with  the  preparation 
of  the  Gospel  of  peace :  above  all,  taking  the  shield  of  faith, 
wherewith  ye  shall  be  able  to  quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the 
wicked  :  and  take  the  helmet  of  salvation,  and  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God  :  praying  always  with  all  pray- 
er and  supplication  in  the  spirit,  and  watching  thereunto  with 
all  perseverance." — Ephesians,  vl,  10-18. 

The  striking  and  comprehensive  exhortation 
contained  in  this  passage  stands  in  a  connex- 
ion which  gives  it  intense  and  peculiar  inter- 
est. In  the  early  part  of  the  epistle,  the  inspi- 
red writer  had  laid  before  his  Ephesian  con- 
verts a  brief  but  luminous  view  of  the  great 
provisions  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and  he  had 
impressed  the  value  of  the  blessings  which  had 


190  THE    CONTEST    AND 

been  conferred  upon  them,  as  Gentiles,  in  be- 
ing admitted  to  a  participation  in  this  message 
of  mercy.  He  then  goes  on  to  deduce  from 
this  the  solemn  obligation  which  was  laid  upon 
them,  of  cultivating  a  character  and  conduct 
becoming  the  Gospel — a  conduct  which  should 
mark  a  decided  distinction  between  them  and 
the  heathen  from  whom  they  had  been  separ- 
ated. With  this  view  he  especially  impress- 
es upon  them  qualities  of  character  which  had 
no  place  in  the  code  of  heathen  morality,  but 
which  hold  a  prominent  rank  in  the  high  moral- 
ity of  the  Gospel — lowliness,  meekness,  and 
long-suffering,  purity,  veracity,  kindness,  for- 
giveness, and  peace.  He  warns  them  against 
anger,  wrath,  clamour,  evil  speaking,  and  all 
malice  ;  and  entreats  them  to  walk  in  love- 
to  be  kind  and  tender-hearted  towards  each 
other — forgiving  one  another,  even  as  God, 
for  Christ's  sake,  had  forgiven  them.  He  ur- 
ges upon  them  the  cultivation  of  sobriety,  pu- 
rity, and  chastity,  not  in  conduct  only,  but  also 
in  speech  ;  and  he  farther  exhorts  them  to 
Christian  circumspection  and  watchfulness,  re- 
deeming the  time,  and  to  the  culture  of  an  ha- 
bitual spirit  of  devotion,  and  of  thankfulness 


THE    ARMOUR.  191 

towards  God — "  giving  thanks  always,  for  all 
things,  unto  God  and  the  father,  in  the  name 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

These  general  exhortations  he  follows  up  by 
others  of  a  more  personal  or  relative  kind — the 
duties  of  husbands  and  wives — of  parents  and 
children — of  masters  and  servants — impress- 
ing upon  all,  who  call  themselves  the  disciples 
of  Jesus,  the  obligation  of  being  distinguished, 
in  every  relation  of  life,  by  a  conduct  becom- 
ing that  profession,  and  to  be  remarked  by  all 
as  widely  different  from  the  conduct  and  char- 
acter of  those  who  know  not  God,  and  obey 
not  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

Having  laid  before  them  this  high  and  ex- 
tensive code  of  Christian  morals,  he  concludes 
his  instructions  by  calling  their  attention  to 
that  discipline  of  the  heart  by  which  alone  this 
consistency  of  character  can  be  produced  and 
maintained,  and  without  w^hich  all  culture  of 
the  external  conduct  is  a  baseless  fabric — fair, 
it  may  be,  in  the  eyes  of  men,  but  defective  in 
that  which  can  give  it  any  real  value  as  re- 
spects the  sound  condition  of  a  moral  being. 
**  Finally,  my  brethren,"  he  adds,  as  if  this  were 
the  crowning  part  of  his  whole  exhortation, 


192  THE    CONTEST    AND 

"  be  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of 
his  might ;  for  we  wrestle  not  against  flesh 
and  blood,  but  against  principalities — against 
powers — against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of 
this  world — against  spiritual  wickedness  in 
high  places :  wherefore  take  unto  you  the 
whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to 
withstand  in  the  evil  day,  and  having  done  all, 
to  stand." 

Whoever  feels,  as  he  ought,  the  supreme  im- 
portance of  the  subject,  must  perceive  that  the 
foundation  of  all  true  regulation  of  the  char- 
acter must  be  in  the  discipline  of  the  heart. 
This  is  laid  down  in  the  clearest  manner  in  va- 
rious parts  of  the  Scripture  ;  and  it  is  a  prin- 
ciple which  carries  its  own  evidence  to  every 
reflecting  mind.  The  points  of  supreme  im- 
portance in  the  inquiry,  therefore,  are.  What 
are  the  causes  to  which  we  are  exposed  that 
have  a  tendency  to  impede  this  internal  cul- 
ture, and  what  are  the  means  provided  by 
'  which  the  operation  of  these  causes  may  be 
counteracted  in  such  a  manner  as  may  prevent 
their  deadly  influence  upon  the  most  solemn  of 
all  concerns,  the  culture  of  the  soul  for  the  life 
which  is  to  come  ?     In  the  passage  before  us 


THE    ARMOUR.  198 

these  causes  are  referred  to  several  heads, 
which,  when  translated,  as  it  were,  from  the 
figurative  language  in  which  they  are  express- 
ed, appear  to  be  referable  to  three  leading  class- 
es, without  doing  violence  to  the  spirit  of  the 
apostle's  meaning. 

I.  The  influence  of  malignant  spirits,  here 
designated  "  principalities  and  powers."  On 
this  solemn  and  mysterious  subject,  the  knowl- 
edge imparted  to  us  is  very  hmited  ;  but,  from 
what  is  distinctly  stated  in  various  parts  of 
Scripture,  we  have  every  reason  to  believe 
that  we  are  exposed  to  such  an  agency — that 
there  are  powers  of  darkness,  which,  in  the 
mighty  purposes  of  the  Eternal  One,  are  per- 
mitted to  exert  a  certain  influence  over  the  hu- 
man mind,  but  an  influence  of  a  limited  nature, 
the  actual  power  of  which  depends  very  much 
upon  ourselves.  It  depends  upon  the  solemn 
consideration  whether  we  steadily  resist  this 
agency  when  we  feel  its  first  approaches  to 
the  mind,  or  whether  we  calmly  resign  our- 
selves to  its  influence.  There  is  thus  present- 
ed to  us  a  subject  of  the  most  solemn  interest, 
and  one  which  demands  our  most  earnest  and 
R 


194  THE    CONTEST    AND 

serious  attention  as  moral  and  responsible  be- 
ings. A  consideration  of  the  most  solemn  na- 
ture it  undoubtedly  is,  that  there  is  a  certain 
state  of  mind — a  certain  rishig  of  desire — a  cer- 
tain evolvement  of  imagination,  which  marks 
the  hour  and  the  power  of  darkness — a  malig- 
nant effort  to  destroy  the  moral  health,  and 
place  in  jeopardy  the  safety  of  the  soul.  Let 
•each  arouse  himself  to  all  the  danger  and  all 
the  solemnity  of  the  moment.  Let  him  rec- 
ognise a  power  which  others  cannot  see,  that 
is  seeking  his  destruction.  Let  him  see  a  hand 
which  others  cannot  see,  that  points  to  the  ar- 
mour by  which  the  attack  may  be  repelled. 
The  mighty  conflict  may  be,  as  it  were,  the 
work  of  a  moment.  In  that  dread  moment 
the  assault  may  be  made  upon  the  feeble  and 
helpless  being  ;  in  that  same  moment,  by  the 
feeble  and  helpless  being  having  recourse  to 
the  whole  armour  of  God,  the  battle  is  won. 

II.  The  blinding  or  darkening  influence  of 
worldly  pursuits  and  objects  of  sense — "  the 
rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world."  Vari^ 
ous  are  the  forms  in  which  the  things  of  this 
world  occupy,  engross,  or  distract  the  mind, 


I 


THE    ARMOUR.  195' 

SO  as  to  draw  it  astray  from  ihe  due  impression 
of  the  great  realities  which  are  the  objects  of 
faith.  One  devotes  his  whole  regards  to  the 
amusements  and  pleasures  of  life — a  second  to 
wealth — a  third  to  fame — a  fourth  to  power. 
More  worthy  in  themselves,  though  often  not 
less  engrossing,  the  high  pursuits  of  literature 
and  science  may  be  cultivated  in  a  manner 
which  makes  them  referable  to  the  same  class 
— the  class  of  pursuits  which  look  not  beyond 
the  things  of  time.  And  then  there  are  the 
cares  and  the  anxieties  of  life,  which  are  apt 
to  occupy  and  distract  the  mind,  bowing  it 
down,  it  may  be,  in  such  a  manner,  that  even 
while  the  world  presents  nothing  that  yields 
satisfaction,  the  soul  yet  cleaves  to  it  with  the 
eager  aspiration,  "  Who  will  show  us  any 
good  ?"  In  whatever  way  the  things  of  earth 
may  thus  affect  us,  they  are  apt  to  exert  a  blind- 
ing or  darkening  influence  upon  the  mind,  or 
to  act  as  a  veil  interposed  between  it  and  the 
solemn  realities  of  things  which  are  not  seen. 
Who  is  there  that  has  not,  in  one  degree  or 
another,  experienced  this  power  ?  In  the  mo- 
ments of  calm  and  serious  thought — it  may  be 
on  the  bed  of  sickness,  in  the  time  of  affliction, 


196  THE    CONTEST    AND 

or  under  some  other  circumstances  which  led  a 
man  to  retreat  from  the  worl4  for  a  time,  and 
forced  him  to  retire  upon  himself — who  has 
not  heard  the  voice  of  conscience  pleading  for 
God — who  has  not  felt  the  dread  realities  of 
eternal  things — who  has  not  had  forced  upon 
him  the  conviction  that  he  was  living  in  vain? 
And,  when  the  peculiar  circumstances  had 
passed  by — when  the  mind  was  again  engross- 
ed with  the  active  pursuits  of  life,  who  has  not 
experienced  that  the  impression,  which  for  the 
time  seemed  so  vivid,  vanished  as  if  it  had  nev- 
er been  ?  Such  is  the  power  of  the  darkness 
of  this  world.  Thus,  in  the  striking  language 
of  Scripture,  does  the  god  of  this  world  blind 
the  minds  of  them  that  believe  not ;  and  thus, 
according  to  the  representation  of  our  Lord 
himself,  do  the  cares  of  the  world,  the  deceit- 
fulness  of  riches,  and  the  lust  of  other  things, 
choke  the  good  seed  of  the  Word,  and  render 
it  unfruitful. 

III.  "  Spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places/* 
The  literal  translation  of  the  paragraph  ap- 
pears to  be,  "  Spiritual  things  of  corruption  in 
heavenlies."      The  word   "heavenlies"  may 


THE    ARMOUR.  197 

mean  either  heavenly  places  or  heavenly  things. 
If  we  take  the  latter  interpretation,  the  passage 
will  be,  "  spiritual  things  of  corruption  in  heav- 
enly things  ;"  which,  without  any  violence,  may 
be  considered  as  implying  "  the  corrupt  aver- 
sion of  the  heart  to  heavenly  things."  Of  the 
enemies  of  the  soul  which  are  pointed  at  by 
the  apostle,  this  is  perhaps  the  most  uniform  in 
its  agency.  A  man  may  retreat  from  the  world, 
its  tumults,  and  its  cares  ;  and  he  is  often  pla- 
ced in  circumstances  in  which  he  is  compelled 
to  say  that  it  presents  nothing  worthy  of  his 
regard.  Even  the  agency  of  the  powers  of 
darkness  we  do  not  know  to  be  constant  and 
unrelenting.  But  the  enmity  of  the  heart  of 
man,  in  its  natural  state,  to  God,  is  unchanging 
and  unceasing.  God  is  not  in  all  his  thoughts, 
and  he  cannot  regard  the  Divine  character 
with  any  degree  of  satisfaction.  He  has  no 
inclination  to  look  within,  and  to  inquire  what 
is  his  own  relation  to  a  being  of  unspotted  j;io-^ 
liness.  Heavenly  things  he  cannot  contem- 
plate with  any  kind  of  interest,  for  the  essence 
of  heaven  is  holiness,  and  holiness  has  in  it  no 
beauty  that  can  lead  the  natural  heart  to  de- 
sire it.  And  even  with  regard  to  those  who 
R2 


198  THE    CONTEST   AND 

have  been  led  to  form  some  just  conceptions 
of  the  character  of  God,  and  the  value  of  the 
Gospel  of  peace,  and  to  feel  in  some  degree 
the  powers  of  a  world  to  come,  what  daily- 
cause  have  they  to  mourn  over  a  soul  that 
cleaves  to  the  dust — a  mind  that  tends  contin- 
ually to  start  aside,  and  throw  off  the  impres- 
sions of  things  the  most  sacred  and  solemn — 
to  be  occupied  with  anything  rather  than  God  ? 
How  much  do  they  feel  a  law  in  their  mem- 
bers warring  against  the  law  of  their  minds  ; 
and  how  often,  amid  their  daily  conflict,  and 
the  daily  wanderings  of  their  heart  from  God, 
are  they  constrained  to  exclaim  with  the  apos- 
tle, "  Oh  wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall 
deliver  me  V* 

Having  such  enemies  to  contend  with,  both 
from  without  and  from  within,  and  exposed  to 
their  combined  influence  in  every  step  through 
this  solemn  scene  of  moral  discipline,  how  shall 
the  feeble,  unstable,  and  helpless  being  hope  to 
make  any  progress  in  the  mighty  work  that  is 
before  him.  "  I  thank  God,"  adds  the  apostle, 
**  through  Jesus  Christ  my  Lord/'  It  is  only 
when  we  come  as  helpless  sinners  to  the  cross 


THE  ARMOUR.  199 

of  the  Redeemer  that  we  can  make  the  first 
step  in  this  momentous  undertaking  ;  and  we 
cannot  hope  to  make  any  progress  in  it,  except 
by  looking  to  him  continually,  both  as  our  righ- 
teousness and  our  strength.  "  Abide  in  me," 
says  our  Lord,  "  and  I  in  you  ;  as  the  branch 
cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself,  except  it  abide  in 
the  vine,  no  more  can  ye,  except  ye  abide  in 
me" — "  without  me  ye  can  do  nothing."  The 
man  who  has  learned  to  feel  his  own  weakness 
will  learn  also  to  know  that  he  must  not  only 
look  to  the  Redeemer  for  the  pardon  of  sin,  but 
must  wait  upon  him  continually  for  progressive 
sanctification — for  every  step  of  advancement 
in  the  Divine  life,  and  for  every  victory  over 
those  enemies  of  the  soul  which  are  so  apt  to 
retard  its  progress  towards  heaven. 

But  while  we  steadily  keep  in  view  this  great 
foundation — this  mighty  refuge  of  the  soul  in 
its  utmost  need — we  must  also  remember  that 
means  are  provided  which  it  is  our  part  to  em- 
ploy with  all  diligence  ;  that  a  daily  warfare 
is  before  us,  in  which  we  are  ourselves  called 
upon  to  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith.  To  this 
contest,  indeed,  we  are  not  sent  in  our  own 
strength  ;  but  still  the  warfare  is  real,  and  we 


200  THE    CONTEST    AND 

are  required  to -engage  in  it  with  the  same  firm- 
ness and  perseverance  as  if  the  conflict  were 
entirely  our  own.  So  it  was,  in  various  in- 
stances, in  the  experience  of  God's  ancient 
people,  whose  history  is,  in  many  respects,  a 
figure  of  the  Christian  hfe  and  Christian  war- 
fare. When  Amalek  came  down  to  oppose 
the  passage  of  Israel  in  their  progress  towards 
the  promised  land,  Joshua  was  commanded  to 
take  chosen  men  and  go  and  fight  with  Ama- 
lek. Easy  would  it  have  been  for  him  who 
had  divided  the  sea  before  them,  and  supplied 
them  with  water  out  of  the  rock,  now  to  have 
dispersed  Amalek  with  a  word,  while  they 
should  only  have  been  required,  as  on  another 
memorable  occasion,  to  stand  still  and  see  the 
salvation  of  God.  But  such  was  not  his  pleas- 
ure. A  battle  was  to  be  fought  with  this  war- 
like people  ;  and,  like  any  other  battle,  the  con- 
flict raged,  with  various  and  fluctuatiug  suc- 
cess, in  the  valley  of  Rephidim.  While  the 
contest  was  going  on,  they  had  still  before 
them  the  signal  of  the  Divine  presence  in  the 
remarkable  circumstance  that,  when  Moses 
lifted  up  his  hands,  Israel  prevailed,  and  when 
he  let  them  down,  Amalek  prevailed.     The 


THE    ARMOUR.  201 

means  are  added  by  which  the  hands  of  Mo- 
ses were  supported  when  they  became  heavy  5 
and,  in  the  end,  Amalek  was  dispersed  before 
the  host  of  Joshua  ;  but,  with  the  undoubted 
symbol  of  the  Divine  presence  constantly  in 
their  view,  this  result  did  not  take  place  till 
the  battle  had  raged  to  the  going  down  of  the 
sun. 

And  so  it  must  be  in  the  experience  of  ev- 
ery individual  Christian.  When  he  looks  to 
the  cross  of  the  Redeemer,  he  beholds  at  once 
the  source  and  the  symbol  of  a  power  which 
is  able  to  make  him  more  than  conqueror  over 
all  his  spiritual  enemies.  But  it  is  when  he 
goes  out  to  the  battle,  arrayed  in  all  the  ar- 
mour of  God,  and  puts  forth  his  utmost  strength 
to  use  the  armour  thus  provided — it  is  then 
that  he  is  entitled  to  look  for  a  communication 
of  this  power,  and  a  supply  for  every  want, 
and  a  strength  amid  all  his  weakness,  to  carry 
him  on  through  every  danger,  till,  having  been 
thus  enabled  to  be  faithful  unto  death,  he  shall 
receive  the  crown  of  life. 

In  the  warfare  thus  figuratively  represented 
to  us,  **  we  wrestle  not,"  says  the  apostle, 
**  against  flesh  and  blood  :"  that  is,  it  is  not  a 


202  THE    CONTEST    AND 

bodily  contest — it  is  a  warfare  within.  Ac- 
cordingly, he  adds,  in  another  place,  "  The 
weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but 
mighty  through  God,  to  the  pulling  down  of 
strongholds,  casting  down  imaginations,  and 
every  high  thing  that  exalteth  itself  against 
the  knowledge  of  God,  and  bringing  into  cap- 
tivity every  thought  to  the  obedience  of  Christ." 
In  this  warfare,  therefore,  the  enemies  with 
whom  we  have  to  contend  are  such  as  exert 
their  influence  upon  the  mind  ;  the  acts  of  war- 
fare by  which  the  contest  with  them  is  to  be 
conducted,  consists  of  acts  of  the  mind  ;  and 
the  armour  which  we  are  exhorted  to  take,  to 
enable  us  to  engage  in  this  warfare  with  suc- 
cess, consists  of  truths,  motives,  moral  causes, 
and  spiritual  influences,  which  are  calculated 
to  act  upon  the  mind,  and  to  produce  in  it  a 
certain  state  of  moral  feeling  which  constitutes 
the  healthy  condition  of  the  soul.  That  these 
truths  and  motives  may  produce  their  proper 
influence  upon  the  mind,  a  power  from  on  high 
is  indeed  required,  without  which  we  can  do 
nothing.  But  this  in  no  degree  diminishes  the 
oblgation  upon  us  to  perform  the  part,  and  to 
perform  it  with  diligence,  which  really  belongs 


THE    ARMOUR.  203 

to  US  as  moral  and  responsible  beings.  This 
brings  us  to  processes  of  the  naind  itself,  which 
every  nnan  is  conscious  that  he  has  the  power 
to  perform.  However  much  the  actual  per- 
formance of  them  may  have  become  distaste- 
ful from  a  depraved  condition  of  the  heart,  or 
impaired  by  long  habits  of  neglect  of  that  im- 
portant discipline  of  the  mind  on  which  they 
depend,  they  are  not  less  the  absolute  duty  of 
every  rational  man,  and  not  less  essential  to  a 
.  sound  condition  of  the  moral  being.  Of  the 
nature  of  the  armour  to  be  thus  employed  we 
have  a  striking  exposition  in  the  passage  before 
us ;  when,  after  enumerating  the  spiritual  en- 
emies to  whose  attacks  we  are  exposed,  the 
apostle  goes  on  to  exhort  every  man  who  feels 
the  danger  of  his  position,  and  estimates  aright 
the  solemn  importance  of  the  warfare  to  which 
he  is  called,  "  Stand  therefore,  having  your 
loins  girt  about  with  truth,  having  on  the  breast- 
plate of  righteousness,  and  your  feet  shod  with 
the  preparation  of  the  Gospel  of  peace.  Above 
all,  taking  the  shield  of  faith,  wherewith  ye  shall 
be  able  to  quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wick- 
ed ;  and  take  the  helmet  of  salvation,  and  the 
Eword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God  ; 


204  THE    CONTEST    AND 

praying  always  with  all  prayer  and  supplica- 
tion in  the  Spirit,  and  watching  thereunto  with 
all  perseverance." 

In  attempting  an  illustration  ol  this  impor- 
tant subject,  it  does  not  appear  to  be  necessa- 
ry that  we  should  pursue  the  metaphor  minute- 
ly through  the  various  points  which  are  here 
referred  to  under  it :  that  is  to  say,  it  is  not  ne- 
cessary to  inquire  why  truth  is  given  as  the 
peculiar  armour  of  the  loins,  righteousness  as 
the  breastplate,  or  for  the  defence  of  the  feet 
the  preparation  of  the  Gospel  of  peace.  No- 
thing, it  appears,  would  be  gained  by  tracing 
in  this  manner  the  figurative  language  of  the 
apostle.  Every  useful  purpose  will  probably 
be  answered  by  viewing  the  passage  in  a  more 
general  way — as  simply  an  exposition  of  the 
various  parts  of  that  armour  which  we  are  ex- 
horted to  put  on,  that  we  may  stand  in  the  evil 
day  ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  we  may  resist 
the  influence  of  the  various  spiritual  enemies 
to  whom  we  are  exposed  on  our  passage 
through  this  short  and  solemn  scene  of  moral 
discipline. 

I.  The  first  part  of  this  armour  is  Truth — 


THE    ARMOUR.  206 

"having  your  loins  girt  about  with  truth.** 
At  the  very  first  step  of  the  inquiry,  we  are 
here  directed  to  a  process  of  the  mind  of  which 
every  man  has  the  conviction  that  he  has  the 
power  to  perform  it.  In  the  bodily  warfare, 
from  which  the  figure  is  taken,  the  man  has 
the  armour  provided,  but  his  part  is  to  put  it 
on  in  the  manner  in  which  it  is  meant  to  be 
worn ;  and  without  this,  the  possession  of  it 
will  be  of  no  avail  whatever  for  his  defence  in 
the  battle.  So  in  the  spiritual  warfare,  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  armour  which  is  presented 
to  him  is  truth  ;  but  his  duty,  as  a  being  en- 
dowed with  powers  of  attention,  memory,  and 
reflection,  is  to  receive  the  truth  so  provided 
into  his  mind,  and  to  make  it  the  subject  of 
earnest  and  habitual  attention  and  reflection, 
so  that  it  may  be  placed  in  circumstances  for 
producing  its  proper  influence  upon  the  moral 
emotions  of  his  heart,  and  his  whole  charac- 
ter and  conduct  in  life.  True  indeed  it  is,  that 
for  this  great  purpose  a  power  is  required 
which  is  not  in  man.  But  we  do  violence  to 
this  high  principle  when  we  state  it  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  that  part  which  is  really  our  own, 
and  in  regard  to  which  the  solemn  responsi- 
S 


206  THE    CONTEST   AND 

bility  is  thrown  upon  ourselves.  A  man  who 
goes  to  battle  encased  in  armour  may  still  re- 
ceive an  injury,  but  he  who  enters  the  conflict 
entirely  unaniied  has  no  cause  to  be  astonish- 
ed if  it  is  so  with  him,  and  must  feel  that  the 
blame  of  his  foolhardiness  is  entirely  his  own. 
Now  the  man  who  goes  to  battle  without  his 
armour  is  a  figurative  representation  of  the 
vacant,  listless,  and  frivolous  mind.  It  is  ex- 
posed to  the  powder  of  every  wild  delusion  that 
flutters  by.  The  malignant  spirits  that  seek  it 
for  a  prey  find  nothing  to  oppose  them  ;  for 
the  entrance  is  open  to  every  intruder,  and  all, 
it  may  be,  is  empty  within.  The  deadening 
and  darkening  influence  of  earthly  things  take 
their  turn  of  the  occupancy,  one  succeeding 
another,  as  accidental  circumstances  may  de- 
termine, but  each,  in  his  turn,  maintaining  that 
possession  of  the  soul  which  shuts  out  from 
its  view  the  overwhelming  interest  of  the 
things  which  are  eternal.  And  in  the  absence 
of  these,  the  corrupt  aflfections  and  vain  ima- 
ginations of  the  carnal  heart  itself  are  ever 
ready  to  spring  up  at  a  call,  deadening  more 
and  more  the  moral  perceptions  of  the  mind, 
and  fixing  it  more  and  more  deeply  as  the  will- 
ing slave  o.f  sin. 


THE    ARMOUR.  207 

The  great  principle  in  the  science  of  mind 
which  is  brought  before  us  in  connexion  with 
this  subject  is,  that  the  mind  must  be  occupied  ; 
and  that,  if  it  is  not  occupied  by  that  which  is 
worthy  of  its  high  destiny,  and  tends  to  its 
moral  culture,  it  will  be  speedily  taken  posses- 
sion of  by  that  which  tends  to  its  moral  degra- 
dation and  ruin.  The  first  of  the  antidotes 
provided,  or,  in  the  figurative  language  of  the 
apostle,  the  first  part  of  the  armour  presented 
to  us  for  this  great  purpose,  is  Truth  ;  and  to 
have  the  loins  girt  about  with  truth  seems  to 
imply,  cultivating  the  habit  of  having  the  mind 
so  habitually  occupied  with  the  great  truths 
which  most  concern  its  highest  interest,  that 
these  may  prevent  the  inroads  of  intruders 
which  tend  to  its  moral  injury.  For  as  the 
armour,  in  the  figure  before  us,  is  of  no  use  if 
it  be  merely  in  possession,  without  being  girt 
about  the  loins  in  the  manner  in  which  it  is  in- 
tended to  be  worn,  so  the  knowledge  of  those 
great  truths,  and  even  the  absolute  belief  of 
them,  are  of  no  value  as  means  of  moral  de- 
fence to  the  soul,  unless  they  are  made  the  sub- 
ject of  habitual  and  earnest  attention,  and  ha- 
bitual and  serious  reflection,  in  some  degree 


208  THE    CONTEST    AND 

adequate  to  their  supreme  and  internal  impor- 
tance. This  is  to  have  the  loins  girt  about 
with  Truth, 

What,  then,  are  the  truths  which  are  thus 
to  be  used  as  armour  of  the  soul  against  the 
enemies  of  its  safety  and  its  peace  ?  They  con- 
sist of  all  those  great  and  solemn  truths  which 
concern  a  man  as  a  rational  and  immortal  be- 
ing, and  his  relation  to  that  incomprehensible 
One  who  is  now  his  witness  and  will  soon  be 
his  judge.  In  the  present  short  and  transitory 
state  of  being  he  is  placed  for  a  period  of  mor- 
al discipline.  He  has  various  duties  which  he 
is  called  upon  to  perform,  and  many  responsi- 
bilities and  means  of  usefulness  which  he  is  re- 
quired to  improve  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
good  of  man  ;  and  he  has  committed  to  his 
care  an  immortal  spirit,  to  be  disciplined  for 
the  solemn  realities  of  a  life  which  is  to  come. 
Through  every  step  of  this  mortal  pilgrimage 
he  is  exposed  to  an  eye  that  never  sleeps — the 
eye  of  Him  who  is  not  only  the  witness  of  his 
conduct  in  every  relation  of  life,  but  before 
whom  even  his  most  secret  desires  and  ima- 
ginations are  open,  and  are  weighed  in  the  bal- 
ance of  the  sanctuary.     Each  day,  as  it  hur- 


r 


THE    ARMOUR.  209 

ries  unheeded  over  him,  is  leading  him  with 
fearful  rapidity  to  the  grave  ;  and  after  the 
short  night  of  the  grave  is  that  dread  morning 
when  the  voice  of  the  Eternal  shall  wake  the 
dead — and  then  there  is  the  awful  solemnity 
of  the  judgment  of  Him  who  cannot  err — and 
then  there  is  Eternity.  Were  the  solemn  truth 
habitually  present  to  the  mind,  that  each  day, 
as  it  passes  over  us,  affects  our  preparation  for 
these  dread  ^-ealities — ^that  each  day,  each  hour, 
each  act  of  life,  each  train  of  thought  that  is 
encouraged  in  the  mind,  has  its  part  in  advan- 
cing or  retarding  us  in  this  mighty  work, 
and  has  thus  a  bearing  on  our  prospects  for 
eternity,  oh  !  how  could  the  impression  fail  to 
act  as  armour  of  the  soul,  and,  under  an  influ- 
ence from  on  high,  tend  to  guard  it  against 
principalities,  against  powers,  against  the  ru- 
lers of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  and  spiritu- 
al wickedness  in  high  places :  such  is  the  migh- 
ty import  of  having  the  loins  girt  about  with 
Truth. 

II.  When,  under  the  influence  of  a  deep  and 
serious  contemplation  of  such  truths  as  these,  a 
man's  attention  has  been  awakened  to  the  sol- 
S2 


210  THE    CONTEST    AND 

emn  import  of  the  eternity  which  is  before  him, 
the  next  and  most  natural  step  in  the  process- 
es of  his  mind  is  to  inquire  into  his  own  moral 
condition  in  the  sight  of  Him  who  looketh  into 
his  heart.  Is  he  prepared  to  meet  that  almigh- 
ty One,  who  is  soon  to  be  disclosed  in  all  the 
dread  attributes  of  his  character  as  a  Judge 
of  unerring  purity  and  justice  ?  Is  he  conscious 
of  a  moral  condition  w  hich  affords  him  evidence 
of  preparation  for  rendering  to  this  incompre- 
hensible One  a  strict  account,  or  has  he  the  con- 
viction that  a  future  life  in  the  presence  of  God 
would  really  be  a  source  of  enjoyment  to  him  ? 
Of  that  life  we  can  form  no  other  conception 
than  that  its  great  peculiarity  consists  of  per- 
fection for  holiness — has  he,  then,  the  conscious- 
ness that  progress  in  holiness  is  a  leading  ob- 
ject with  him  here  ?  if  not,  how  can  the  perfec- 
tion of  it  be  a  source  of  blessedness  ?  What 
is  the  prevailing  character  of  his  thoughts,  de- 
sires, and  pursuits — are  they  such  as  class  him 
wth  "  those  who  mind  earthly  things" — who 
nxe  carnally  minded,  which  is  said  to  be 
•'  death,"  or  with  those  who  are  seeking  as  their 
chief  good  a  portion  which  the  world  has  not 
to  give — who  are  *'  spiritually  minded,"  which 
is  "  life  and  peace  ?" 


THE    ARMOUR.  211 

When  a  man  has  put  to  himself  such  ques- 
tions as  these  with  a  seriousness  adapted  to 
their  solemn  import,  he  cannot  fail  to  perceive 
his  absolute  need  of  a  righteousness  which  is 
not  in  himself,  before  he  can  be  considered  as 
taking  one  step  in  the  divine  life — before  he 
can  be  prepared  to  make  one  effort  in  the 
Christian  warfare.  All  his  knowledge  of  truth, 
and  all  the  attention  he  can  direct  to  it,  he  feels 
to  be  totally  inefficient  in  themselves  for  this 
mighty  work.  In  the  sight  of  a  God  of  un- 
spotted holiness  and  boundless  perfections,  he 
feels  a  burden  of  sin  upon  his  conscience  for 
which  he  can  offer  no  satisfaction.  Years  and 
years  that  have  passed  over  while  he  lived  in 
a  state  of  forgetfulness  of  God,  seem  now  to 
rise  up  in  judgment  against  him  ;  and  he  feels 
also  that  he  carries  about  with  him  a  corrupt 
nature,  which  tends  ever  to  lead  him  astray 
from  God,  and  baffles  all  his  feeble  and  ineffi- 
cient efforts  towards  returning  to  him  as  the 
portion  of  his  soul.  To  take  a  single  step  in 
the  Christian  life,  or  to  engage  at  all  in  the 
Christian  warfare,  he  perceives  to  be  totally  in 
vain,  while  such  a  load  of  actual  guilt  is  unre- 
moved,  and  while  so  much  inherent  corruption 


212  THE    CONTEST    AND 

is  unsubdued  ;  and  for  removing  the  one  and 
subduing  the  other,  he  feels  that  he  has  in  him- 
self no  power.  Yet  the  more  he  fixes  his  se- 
rious attention  on  the  great  inquiry,  he  feels 
more  and  more  that  without  this  he  is  lost; 
that  he  cannot  draw  near  to  God  except  in  trem- 
bling ;  that  he  cannot  encounter  his  spiritual 
enemies  except  to  be  destroyed  ;  that  he  can- 
not take  one  step  in  the  path  which  leads  to 
heaven  without  righteousness  —  without  the 
blotting  out  of  those  sins  which  threaten  to 
overwhelm  his  soul^  and  without  the  implant- 
ing in  his  heart  of  a  principle  of  holiness.  He 
perceives  that  both  these  are  alike  indispensa- 
ble for  his  safety ;  but  how  is  he  to  provide 
them.  He  is  not  called  upon  to  provide  them, 
but  to  put  them  on.  He  perceives  them  al- 
ready provided  in  that  marvellous  dispensation 
of  grace  and  of  peace  which  now  beams  upon 
him  in  all  its  wondrous  adaptation  to  the  wants 
of  his  soul,  thus  bringing  with  it  its  own  evi- 
dence that  it  comes  from  God  ;  and  he  feels 
that  he  is  urged  to  no  vain  or  unattainable  act, 
but  to  one  for  which  all  is  offered,  *^  without 
money  and  without  price,^  when,  as  a  first 
great  step  in  the  Christian  warfare,  the  apostle 


THE    ARMOUR.  213 

calls  upon  him  to  "  put  on  the  breastplate  of 
righteousness." 

When,  under  the  teaching  of  the  Spirit  of 
all  truth,  a  man  has  thus  learned  to  see  his 
moral  necessities,  and  to  estimate  aright  the 
provision  that  has  been  made  for  them — when 
he  has  come  as  a  helpless  and  burdened  sin- 
ner to  seek  an  interest  in  this  provision,  he  has 
achieved  that  mighty  step  in  his  moral  history 
which  is  implied  in  putting  on  the  breastplate 
of  righteousness.  It  consists,  as  we  have  seen, 
of  two  parts,  in  one  respect  distinct  from  each 
other,  but  inseparably  connected  in  the  great 
scheme  of  the  Gospel  of  peace.  It  consists  of 
the  righteousness  of  another  laid  hold  of  and 
embraced  as  the  ground  of  his  acceptance,  and 
a  principle  of  righteousness  implanted  in  his 
heart  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  by 
daily  communications  from  that  Spirit,  cher- 
ished and  growing  up  in  his  progressive  sanc- 
tification.  Thus  provided,  he  is  ready  to  be- 
gin the  spiritual  life  ;  thus  armed,  he  is  ready 
to  enter  upon  the  spiritual  contest.  He  feels 
that  he  is  strong,  but  his  strength  is  not  in  him- 
self;  and  he  looks  forward  to  the  course  and 
the  warfare  that  is  before  him  in  the  humble 


214  THE    CONTEST    AND 

confidence  that  in  this  strength  he  "shall  be 
able  to  withstand  in  the  evil  day,  and  having 
done  all,  to  stand." 

III.  And  whence  is  this  confidence  derived^ 
and  hovsr  is  it  maintained  in  the  mind  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  prove  a  part  of  the  armour  of 
the  soul  ?  It  is  derived  from  the  view  which 
a  man  is  now  enabled  to  take  of  the  stability 
of  the  Gospel.  "  Having  your  feet  shod  with 
the  preparation,"  or,  rather,  with  the  Ji)vn  foun- 
dation "  of  the  Gospel  of  peace.'*  In  the  whole 
history  of  redemption,  he  sees  the  character  of 
God  displayed  in  a  manner  which  is  calculated 
to  put  to  silence  every  unbelieving  doubt.  He 
sees  the  wondrous  plan  originating  entirely  in 
the  free  love  and  compassion  of  God — devised 
by  him  from  no  motive  but  this  compassion — 
executed  in  a  manner  more  marvellous  than  it 
ever  could  have  entered  into  the  mind  of  man 
to  conceive — and  all  the  benefits  thus  provided, 
offered,  without  money  and  without  price,  to 
every  one  w^ho  will  come.  He  arrives  at  the 
undoubted  conclusion  that  he  who  devised  and 
executed  such  a  scheme  of  mercy  cannot  pos* 
sibly  be  unwilling  to  bestow  it ;  that  the  faith- 


THE    ARMOUR.  215 

fulness  of  his  character  is  pledged  for  the  ful- 
filment of  all  that  he  has  promised  in  his  Son; 
that  his  positive  engagement  to  the  Redeemer 
is  pledged  to  bestow  upon  him  of  the  travail 
of  his  soul  until  he  is  satisfied ;  and  that  he 
who  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  gave  him  up 
to  the  death  for  us,  will  with  him  also  freely 
give  us  all  things.  This  is  to  have,  as  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  armour  of  his  soul,  "  the 
firm  foundation  of  the  Gospel  of  peace." 

IV.  When,  under  the  impression  of  such 
truths,  and  such  views  of  the  Divine  character 
and  procedure  as  have  thus  been  briefly  refer- 
red to,  a  man  has  been  led  to  seek  his  safety 
and  his  strength  in  the  great  provisions  of  the 
Gospel,  he  enters  upon  a  course  of  life  in  which 
he  feels  continually  his  own  helplessness,  and 
lis  constant  need  of  cultivating  intercourse 
nth  God,  and  of  living  under  the  power  of 
||hings  not  seen.  This  intercourse  and  these 
impressions  are  maintained  by  Faith;  hence 
|adds  the  apostle, "  Above  all,  taking  the  shield 
[of  Faith,  wherewith  ye  shall  be  able  to  quench 
all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked." 

"  Faith,"  says  the  apostle  in  another  place, 


216  THE    CONTEST    AND 

"is  the  substance,"  or  actual  existence  "of 
things  hoped  for,  and  the  evidence,"  or  bring- 
ing into  light  "  of  things  not  seen."  He  thus 
briefly  but  strikingly  directs  our  attention  to 
that  twofold  operation  of  faith,  of  which  each 
exerts  its  proper  and  most  important  influence 
on  the  Christian  character  and  progress.  Feel- 
ing his  lost  and  helpless  condition  in  himself, 
and  receiving  in  confidence  the  promises  of  the 
Gospel,  the  man  is  led  by  faith,  in  the  first  step 
of  his  Christian  course,  to  throw  himself  upon 
the  faithfulness  of  God  for  pardon  and  justifi- 
cation ;  and  feeling  continually  his  need  of  a 
power  that  is  not  in  himself,  his  faith  also  leads 
him  to  rely  upon  the  same  faithfulness  for  all 
those  supplies  which  he  requires  for  his  prog- 
ress in  the  Divine  life.  Thus  he  both  lives 
and  walks  by  faith.  That  exercise  of  faith, 
again,  which  is  the  bringing  into  light  of  things 
not  seen,  tends  to  place  before  him,  with  all 
the  power  of  present  existence,  those  solemn 
realities  which  it  is  the  peculiar  province  of 
such  faith  to  bring  down  upon  the  mind.  It 
places  him,  as  it  were,  in  the  immediate  pres- 
ence of  God,  and  causes  him  to  feel  that  each 
*act  of  life,  each  motive  of  conduct,  each  train 


THE  ARMOUR.  217 

of  thought  that  is  encouraged  in  the  mind,  is 
open  to  Divine  inspection,  and  has  a  bearing 
upon  his  prospects  i'or  eternity.  In  the  farther 
exercise  of  this  faith,  he  realizes  the  solemn 
hour  when  God  shall  be  revealed  in  all  the 
dread  realities  of  his  character  as  an  inflexible 
judge,  and  in  the  anticipation  of  his  own  ap- 
pearance to  give  his  account,  asks  himself  se- 
riously what  he  shall  answer.  What  account 
has  he  to  give  of  how  he  has  discharged  the 
various  duties  of  life — how  he  has  improved 
the  various  talents  which  God  has  committed 
to  his  trust — how  he  has  watched  over  the  dis- 
cipline of  the  soul  in  its  solemn  preparation  for 
an  eternal  being  ? 

Such  a  realizing  view  of  things  not  seen 
cannot  fail  to  operate  as  a  great  moral  cause 
on  the  mind  in  which  it  is  habitually  cherished 
as  an  important  part  of  its  spiritual  armour. 
But  were  the  power  of  faith  to  stop  here,  it 
would  only  leave  the  feeble  being  impressed 
with  a  new  sense  of  the  dangers  with  which 
he  is  encompassed,  and  of  his  own  helplessness 
for  meeting  them.  But  it  does  not  leave  him 
thus  ;  amid  all  his  sense  of  danger,  and  all  his 
feeling  of  weakness,  it  directs  him  to  a  strength 
T 


218  THE    CONTEST    AND 

that  is  not  in  himself — a  power  which  is  prom- 
ised to  every  one  that  asks  it,  and  which  is 
able  to  make  him  more  than  conqueror  over 
all  the  enemies  of  his  salvation.  By  faith  re- 
lying habitually  upon  this  provision,  he  expe- 
riences that  it  is  a  shield  by  which  he  is  able 
to  quench  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked.  The 
more  he  feels  his  own  weakness,  the  more  does 
he  perceive  that  his  only  safely  consists  in 
walking  humbly  and  closely  with  God ;  and 
thus  does  he  experience  the  import  of  the  apos- 
tle's declaration,  "  When  I  am  weak,  then  am  I 
strong." 


V.  The  next  part  of  the  armour  which  the 
Christian  warrior  is  exhorted  to  put  on  is  "  the 
helmet  of  salvation."  This  the  apostle  express- 
es more  fully  in  another  place  by  exhorting  to 
"take  as  an  helmet  the  hope  of  salvation, 
Viewed  in  this  sense,  the  subject  leads  us  to 
that  state  of  mind  which  constitutes  Hope,  and 
to  the  effect  of  this  mental  condition  as  an  en- 
couragement in  the  spiritual  warfare.  That 
operation  of  mind  which  constitutes  hope  may 
be  briefly  analyzed  in  the  following  manner : 
There  is  first  the  desire  of  attaining  some  ob- 


» 


THE    ARMOUR.  219 

ject,  founded  upon  the  perception  of  qualities 
in  it  which  render  it  worthy  of  being  sought 
after.  There  is  then  the  inquiry  whether  it  is 
within  reach  of  our  attainment.  If  this  ap- 
pears to  be  the  case,  there  arises  in  the  mind 
a  state  of  desire,  combined  with  a  sense  of 
pleasure  in  the  anticipation  of  attainment.  This 
is  Hope ;  and  it  proves  a  great  source  of  en- 
couragement to  our  efforts  for  attaining  the  ob- 
ject desired,  and  gives  new  vigour  to  every 
exertion ;  while  the  opposite  condition,  consist- 
ing of  desire  without  the  prospect  of  attain- 
ment, proves  a  source  of  distress,  and  deadens 
every  effort  for  attaining  it. 

In  the  spiritual  life,  the  first  step  which  de- 
termines a  man's  moral  condition  is  when  his 
mind  is  awakened  to  a  due  sense  of  the  value 
of  the  soul,  and  the  supreme  importance  of 
seeking  for  it  salvation  and  eternal  life.  These 
then  become  the  great  and  leading  objects  of 
his  desire,  and  there  arises  the  earnest  inquiry 
how  they  are  to  be  attained.  While  this  great 
question  remains  unanswered,  all  is  darkness 
and  discouragement  within — all  effort  seems 
vain ;  and  in  proportion  to  the.  feeling  of  the 
supreme  and  eternal  value  of  the  objects  de^ 


220  THE    CONTEST    AND 

sired  is  the  sense  of  anxiety  and  discourage- 
ment; but  when  the  mighty  question  is  met  by 
the  wondrous  provisions  of  the  Gospel  of  peace 
■ — when  this  is  seen  in  all  its  harmony  and  all 
its  freeness,  a  new  light  breaks  in  upon  the 
soul ;  depression  and  anxiety  give  way  to  hope 
— a  hope  which  gives  new  activity  and  vigour 
to  every  exertion,  and  enlargement  of  heart  to 
run  in  the  way  of  the  Divine  commandments. 
It  is  clear  how  this  state  of  mind  must  operate 
on  the  whole  moral  feelings,  giving  life  and  ac- 
tivity in  every  duty,  and  watchfulness  against 
every  source  of  declension ;  how  a  lively  sense 
of  the  supreme  importance  of  the  object  sought 
after,  and  the  lively  hope  of  being  able  to  at- 
tain it,  will  tend  to  carry  a  man  through  much 
that  might  otherwise  be  felt  to  be  laborious 
service  ;  and  how  it  must  prove  an  important 
part  of  the  armour  of  the  soul,  when  the  man 
thus  puts  on  as  a  helmet  the  hope  of  salvation. 
Now  it  is  to  be  particulary  remarked  that 
we  are  exhorted  to  cultivate  the  state  of  mind 
which  is  meant  by  hope  ;  and  here  we  have  to 
attend  to  a  principle  in  our  nature  which  pre- 
sents a  subject  of  much  interest,  for  hope  is 
one  of  those  emotions  of  the  mind  over  which 


THE    ARMOUR.  221 

we  have  no  direct  power.  We  cannot  call  it 
forth  at  our  bidding ;  yet,  by  the  constitution 
of  the  mind,  it  is  the  result  of  a  process  of  the 
understanding  which  it  is  entirely  in  our  power 
to  exercise  if  we  will ;  for  an  intense  contem- 
plation of  the  value  of  the  object  sought  after 
tends,  by  the  constitution  of  the  mind,  to  give 
rise  to  desire,  and  an  intense  contemplation  of 
the  means  by  which  it  may  be  attained  is  cal- 
culated to  generate  hope.  Thus  we  are  brought 
back  to  a  process  of  mind  which  consists 
simply  of  attention  and  reflection,  adapted  to 
the  importance  of  the  subject.  In  this  man- 
ner, when  the  powers  of  attention  and  reflec- 
tion are  fixed  with  adequate  interest  on  the 
infinite  value  of  the  soul,  and  the  supreme  im- 
portance of  its  salvation,  this  is  calculated  to 
produce  desire  ;  and  when  the  same  powers 
are  directed  to  the  means  provided  in  the  Gos- 
pel for  the  attainment  of  this  blessing,  this,  ac- 
cording to  the  constitution  of  the  mind,  is  cal- 
culated to  give  rise  to  hope,  even  a  "  hope  that 
maketh  not  ashamed." 

VI.  Having  thus  referred  to  that  discipline 
of  the  mind,  in  regard  to  the  solemn  realities 
T  2 


222  THE    CONTEST    AND 

of  things  not  seen,  which  ought  to  be  carefully 
cultivated  by  every  one  who  feels  the  deep  in- 
terest of  the  spiritual  warfare,  the  apostle  con- 
cludes his  exhortation  by  directing  the  atten- 
tion to  the  means  which  are  calculated  to  keep 
alive  upon  the  mind  due  impressions  of  divine 
things.  These  are  three — the  word  of  God, 
prayer,  and  watchfulness.  "  Take  the  sword 
of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God." 

It  may  be  safely  stated  as  a  principle  in  hu- 
man nature,  that  one  of  the  great  sources  of 
the  facility  with  which  men  yield  to  tempta- 
tion is  the  want  of  solemn  and  serious  thought; 
and,  under  the  power  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  an 
important  mean  of  arming  the  mind  consists  in 
having  it  occupied  with  impressions  which  are 
hostile  to  the  approach  of  sin.  Hence  the  su- 
preme importance  of  cultivating  the  habit  of 
having  the  mind  habitually  provided  with  such 
subjects  of  contemplation  as  tend  to  promote 
this  great  purpose.  With  this  view,  nothing 
is  so  effectual,  and,  at  the  same  time,  so  access- 
ible, as  the  word  of  God.  Its  precepts  are 
available  for  every  step  of  life— its  admoni- 
tions for  every  duty — its  warnings  against 
every  temptation.     *^  Thy  word  have  I  hid  in 


THE    ARMOUR.  223 

my  heart,"  says  the  Psalmist,  "  that  I  might 
not  sin  against  thee."  And  in  that  highest  of 
all  examples,  furnished  by  our  Lord  himself 
in  his  human  nature,  of  the  means  by  which 
temptation  ought  to  be  combated,  his  prompt 
and  simple  answer  to  the  tempter  in  all  cases 
was,  "  It  is  written."  As  it  is  thus  a  chief 
safeguard  against  temptation,  it  is  also  a  ref- 
uge to  the  soul  in  every  situation  in  which  it 
can  be  placed:  "thy  statutes  have  been  my 
song  in  the  house  of  my  pilgrimage  ;  "  "  thy 
word  is  very  pure,  therefore  thy  servant  loveth 
it." 

And  where  but  in  the  records  of  eternal 
truth  can  we  find  that  which  meets  the  feel- 
ings, the  wants,  and  the  capacities  of  the  hu- 
man mind,  under  every  diversity  of  external 
^  condition,  and  every  variety  of  mental  culture  ? 
This  points  to  an  adaptation  worthy  of  Him 
who  framed  the  wondrous  fabric,  and  who 
alone  was  capable  of  providing  that  which  at 
once  was  qualified  to  act  as  moral  causes  on 
its  most  hidden  movements,  and  to  yield  that 
spiritual  food  for  the  soul  by  which  it  may  be 
nourished  unto  everlasting  life. 

But  at  present  we  chiefly  contemplate  the 


224  THE    CONTEST    AND 

word  of  God  as  the  sword  of  the  Spirit — as 
the  offensive  armour  of  the  soul  in  its  contests 
with  the  enemies  of  its  salvation.  The  sub- 
ject is  too  extensive  to  be  more  than  alluded 
to  in  the  most  brief  and  cursory  manner. 
What  temptation  can  assail  us  either  from 
without  or  from  within,  which  the  soul  that  is 
provided  with  this  armour,  and  trained  to  its 
use,  may  not  promptly  meet  with  the  denun- 
ciation, "  Thus  it  is  written.^  How  can  a 
man  fail  to  experience  upon  his  mind  a  solemn 
impression  of  the  Divine  character,  when  he 
addresses  the  Eternal  One  in  terms  which  his 
own  word  has  provided,  "  O  Lord,  thou  hast 
searched  me  and  known  me  ;  thou  understand- 
est  my  thought  afar  off.  Whither  shall  I  go 
from  thy  Spirit,  whither  shall  I  flee  from  thy 
presence.  If  I  ascend  up  into  heaven,  thou 
art  there :  if  I  make  my  bed  in  hell,  behold, 
thou  art  there :  if  I  say,  surely  the  darkness 
shall  cover  me,  even  the  night  shall  be  light 
about  me.  Yea,  the  darkness  hideth  not  from 
thee."  Does  temptation  come  from  without, 
"  How  shall  I  do  this  great  wickedness,  and 
sin  against  God.*'  Is  there  a  motion  of  sin 
within,  "If  I  regard  iniquity  in  my  heart,  the 


THE    ARMOUR.  225 

Lord  will  not  hear  me."  Thus  the  word  of 
God  may  be  employed  as  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit,  as  keeping  at  a  distance  the  approaches 
of  evil ;  and  its  operation  is  not  less  important 
within,  upon  the  heart  in  which  it  has  fixed  its 
abode.  Its  first  operation  there  is  represented 
as  that  of  a  two-edged  sword,  piercing  to  the 
dividing  asunder  of  the  soul  and  spirit,  and 
proving  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents 
of  the  heart ;  discovering  to  a  man  what  is  his 
real  condition  in  the  eye  of  Him  w^hom  exter- 
nal appearances  cannot  deceive.  This  painful 
but  salutary  discipline  being  accomplished,  the 
farther  operation  of  this  great  moral  agent  is 
summed  up  by  the  inspired  writer  in  a  manner 
the  most  striking  and  comprehensive :  "  The 
law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  converting  the  soul ; 
the  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure,  making  wise 
the  simple.  The  statutes  of  the  Lord  are  right, 
rejoicing  the  heart ;  the  commandment  of  the 
Lord  is  pure,  enlightening  the  eyes.  More- 
over, by  them  is  thy  servant  warned,  and  in 
keeping  of  them  there  is  great  reward." 

Thus  the  word  of  God  presents  an  adapta- 
tion to  all  the  necessities  of  the  soul,  and  proves 
an  infallible  guide  in  every  step  and  every 


226  THE    CONTEST    AND 

emergency  of  life.  Its  precepts  avail  for  every 
line  of  duty,  its  warnings  tend  to  repel  every 
kind  of  temptation.  Its  promises  meet  every 
want  and  every  weakness  ;  and  the  light  and 
the  truth,  which  beam  from  every  part  of  it, 
are  calculated  to  carry  the  finite  and  feeble 
being  beyond  the  sphere  of  objects  of  sense, 
and  to  conduct  him,  in  high  and  holy  commu- 
nion, even  to  the  throne  of  Him  who  is  eternal. 
But  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  thus  provided, 
must  be  not  only  worn,  but  used.  Other  ar- 
mour may  avail  for  defence,  by  being  simply 
put  on ;  but  a  sword  is  useless  without  an  arm 
that  has  power  to  wield  it.  So  the  word  of 
God  must  not  only  be  known  and  understood, 
but  it  must  be  made  the  subject  of  habitual, 
frequent,  and  serious  reflection ;  it  must  be  put 
forth,  as  it  were,  and  applied  to  every  emer- 
gency of  life,  and  every  process  of  discipline 
of  the  heart.  It  must  be  so  employed  with 
earnest  and  habitual  aspiration  after  a  power 
from  the  Spirit  of  all  grace,  through  whose 
aid  alone  it  can  be  made  effectual  for  these 
mighty  purposes.  Thus  shall  it  indeed  prove 
the  sword  of  that  Spirit — the  defence  of  the 
soul  against  all  its  spiritual  enemies,  and  the 
daily  mean  of  its  growing  sanctification. 


THE    ARMOUR.  227 

VII.  Accordingly,  the  apostle  continues  his 
exposition  of  the  Christian  armour  by  enfor- 
cing the  importance  of  earnest,  habitual,  per- 
severing prayer — "  praying  always  with  all 
prayer  and  supplication  in  the  Spirit."  That 
incomprehensible  One  who  searcheth  the  heart, 
requires  not,  indeed,  to  be  informed  either  of 
our  wants  or  our  desires.  The  most  hidden 
movements  of  the  soul  are  open  to  his  view, 
and  our  spiritual  necessities  are  better  known 
to  him  than  they  are  to  ourselves.  But  he 
looks  for  a  sense  of  these  wants  and  an  expres- 
sion of  these  necessities  as  means  of  commu- 
nication with  himself,  and  as  an  essential  part 
of  that  intercourse  to  which  he  condescends 
to  invite  the  weary  and  burdened  spirit.  And 
how  must  it  solemnize  this  intercourse  when 
we  reflect  that  all  these  wants  are  known 
to  him  before  they  are  uttered ;  that  he  has 
marked  every  step  in  our  history,  has  witness- 
ed each  train  of  thought  and  emotion  of  the 
mind  by  which  that  mind  has  gone  astray 
from  himself,  and  yet,  with  a  father's  tender- 
ness, invites  our  return,  with  the  assurance, 
not  only  of  forgiveness,  but  of  the  bestowment 
of  moral  health  to  the  soul:  "  Return,  ye  back- 


228  THE    CONTEST    AND 

sliding  children,  and  I  will  heal  your  back- 
slidings."  How  can  the  cultivation  of  such 
intercourse  fail  to  produce  upon  the  mind  an 
awe  of  the  Divine  presence  and  the  Divine 
character,  and  a  constantly  renewed  sense  of 
our  own  weakness,  and  helplessness,  and  sin. 
The  influence  is  familiar  to  every  one  which 
is  produced  by  the  presence  and  intimate  con- 
verse of  men  of  exalted  virtue,  whom,  at  the 
same  time,  we  reverence  and  love ;  and  such, 
but  in  a  much  higher  degree,  must  be  the  in- 
fluence produced  upon  the  soul  by  habitual  in- 
tercourse with  God.  Independently,  indeed, 
of  any  actual  expression  of  want  or  any  actual 
solicitation  of  spiritual  blessings,  there  must  be, 
in  this  very  converse  itself,  a  moral  influence 
of  the  most  exalted  nature.  It  must  lead  to  a 
sense  to  which  a  man  is  otherwise  a  stran- 
ger, of  the  Divine  presence  and  Divine  perfec- 
tions, and  to  a  solemn  awe  under  the  impres- 
sion that  God  understandeth  even  our  thoughts 
afar  off*.  It  must  lead  to  some  feeling  of  his 
character  in  holiness,  and  justice,  and  truth ; 
and  this  must  naturally  give  rise  to  a  sense  of 
our  own  sinfulness  in  his  sight.  When  we 
come  before  him  confessing  our  sins  and  ex- 


THE    ARMOUR.  229 

pressing  our  spiritual  wants,  unless  these  are 
mere  words  of  the  most  empty  formahty,  we 
must  in  some  degree  look  within,  and  make 
mention  before  him  of  those  defects  of  our 
character,  and  those  destructive  habits  of  the 
mind,  which  we  feel  have  retarded  our  prog- 
ress in  the  Divine  life,  or  kept  us  at  a  dis- 
tance from  God.  And  how  can  these  impres- 
siojis  be  more  fixed  and  deepened  than  by  con?- 
fessing  them  before  him  to  whom  they  have 
been  well  known,  when  we  thought  little  of 
their  destructive  influence,  but  were  indulging 
them  without  fear  ?  It  is  when  a  man  thus 
draws  near  to  God,  with  some  feeling  of  the 
words  which  he  addresses  to  the  Searcher  of 
hearts,  it  is  then  that  he  cannot  fail  to  make 
discoveries  of  his  own  character  and  his  own 
moral  condition,  to  which,  under  other  circum- 
stances, he  had  paid  little  attention.  Does  he 
say  to  God,  in  words  which  he  himself  has 
provided,  "  Search  me,  O  God,  and  know  my 
heart ;  try  me,  and  know  my  thoughts,  and 
see  if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me  V*  Can 
he  do  so  without  endeavouring  himself  to  look 
into  that  heart,  and  observing  what  is  the  ha- 
bitual current  of  these  thoughts,  and  thus  deri- 
U 


230  THE    CONTEST    AND 

ving  some  impression  of  what  he  really  is  in 
the  sight  of  him  to  whom  the  whole  is  open  ? 
When  the  soul  thus  comes  to  God  with  a  feel- 
ing of  its  utter  helplessness  and  sin — when  it 
prostrates  itself  before  that  incomprehensible 
One  with  whom  it  is  thus  brought  into  imme- 
diate converse,  it  is  then  in  the  condition  of 
which  he  has  given  the  encouragement  to  hope 
that  it  is  a  frame  of  mind  which  he  will  not  de- 
spise. He  puts  away  from  him  the  proud 
Pharisee  and  the  cold  formalist  with  equal 
displeasure,  but  to  the  weary  and  heavy  laden 
spirit  he  has  promised  rest. 

The  solemn  periods  during  which  a  man  re- 
tires from  the  intrusion  of  external  things,  and 
thus  places  himself  alone  with  God,  must  there- 
fore be  considered  as  a  special  and  most  im- 
portant part  of  that  discipline  of  the  soul  from 
which  it  is  to  derive  strength  for  its  combat 
"with  principalities  and  powers,  with  the  rulers 
of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  and  spiritual 
wickedness  in  high  places."  Such  seasons 
will  be  sought  for  by  every  one  who  feels  at 
all  his  moral  necessities,  and  they  will  be 
sought  for,  not  as  duties  to  be  performed,  but 
as  privileges  to  be  desired  and  cherished — as 


THE    ARMOUR.  231 

a  great  mean  of  spiritual  life^^ — a  chief  source 
of  the  growth,  the  defence,  the  nourishment  of 
the  soul. 

But,  independently  of  those  more  special  and 
solemn  seasons  in  which  a  man  of  prayer  re- 
tires from  external  things,  and  seeks  to  find 
himself  in  the  more  immediate  presence  of 
God — where  there  is  the  habitual  sense  of  the 
Divine  presence,  there  will  be  the  tendency  to 
raise  the  thoughts  to  him,  even  amid  the  or- 
dinary engagements  with  objects  of  sense. 
Amid  the  cares,  the  anxieties,  the  distractions 
of  life,  indeed,  this  must  pften  be  felt  to  be,  as 
it  were,  a  resting-place,  a  refuge  to  the  soul. 
And  a  consideration  at  once  the  most  solemn 
and  encouraging  it  certainly  is,  that,  amid  any 
circumstances  as  to  external  things,  the  aspi- 
ration of  the  heart  directed  to  God  may  have 
all  the  power  and  all  the  efficacy  of  prayer. 
It  is  an  exercise  adapted  to  every  situation  in 
which  the  feeble  being  can  be  placed ;  for» 
whether  distracted  with  anxieties  respecting 
earthly  things,  or  awed  under  more  solemn 
apprehensions  of  things  eternal ;  whether  view- 
ing complicated  duties  in  regard  to  which  he 
perceives  his  own  weakness,  or  combating  with 


232  THE    CONTEST    AND 

spiritual  enemies  which  are  too  strong  for  him, 
the  man  feels  that  he  is  not  alone  who  thus 
seeks  to  "  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  all 
the  days  of  his  life,  to  behold  the  beauty  of  the 
Lord,  and  to  inquire  in  his  temple.'' 

VIII.  To  prayer  must  be  added  Watchful-- 
ness;  and  this  commends  itself  to  the  convic- 
tion of  every  one  who  considers  what  true 
prayer  really  is.  If  there  be  the  earnest  and 
sincere  desire  after  particular  spiritual  bless- 
ings, there  will  be,  besides  the  act  of  prayer, 
the  habitual  cherishing  of  desire  after  these 
blessings ;  and  in  the  desire  so  cherished,  there 
may  be,  in  fact,  all  the  essence  of  prayer* 
There  will  then  be  the  watching  for  the  an- 
swer of  prayer,  as  most  naturally  connected 
with  such  cherished  desire  ;  and  from  this 
there  will  also  result  the  diligent  use  of  all  the 
means  in  our  power  which  seem  likely  to  pro- 
mote the  objects  desired.  And  it  may  be  safely 
asserted,  that  prayer,  without  this  course  of 
mental  operations,  is  an  empty  form  which  can 
never  profit.  Is  the  prayer,  again,  for  deliver- 
ance from  the  power  of  any  enslaving  sin,  or 
from  the  influence  of  any  habit  of  the  mind 


THE    ARMOUR.  233 

which  is  felt  to  be  destructive  of  the  health  of 
the  soul — if  the  prayer  has  any  character  of 
sincerity,  it  must  be  accompanied  by  a  sense 
of  the  eternal  importance  of  the  deliverance 
which  is  sought  for ;  this  will  be  followed  by  a 
cherished  desire  for  it,  and  this,  if  it  have  any 
reality,  will  lead  to  a  watchful  effort  against 
those  propensities  and  those  habits  of  the  mind 
which  are  felt  to  be  endangering  the  highest 
interests  of  the  moral  being.  Upon  these  men- 
tal principles,  watchfulness  may  be  considered 
as  arising  out  of  cherished  desire  ;  and  pray- 
er followed  by  such  desire,  and  by  an  habitual 
sense  of  the  value  of  the  blessings  which  are 
sought  for,  may  be  stated  as  constituting  that 
condition  which  the  apostle  means  to  designate 
when  he  says,  "  praying  always  with  all  prayer 
and  supplication  in  the  spirit,  and  watching 
thereunto  with  all  perseverance." 

The  particular  blessings  or  particular  deliv- 
erances which  are  thus  to  be  made  the  sub- 
jects of  prayer,  followed  by  desire  and  watch- 
fulness, must  differ  according  to  the  experience 
of  different  individuals,  and  therefore  it  is  im- 
possible to  allude  to  them  in  a  more  particular 
manner.  But  in  regard  to  the  great  subject 
U2 


234  THE    CONTEST    AND 

of  Christian  watchfulness  in  general,  there  are 
some  leading  considerations  which  are  appli- 
cable to  all,  and  which  will  be  carefully  acted 
upon  by  those  who  feel  the  eternal  importance 
of  this  great  department  of  the  Christian  war- 
fare. These  may  be  briefly  alluded  to  under 
the  following  heads,  referring  to  propensities 
of  character  to  be  guarded  against,  and  others 
to  be  cultivated  with  persevering  care. 

(1.)  Watch  over  Habits.  These,  I  need  not 
remark,  arise  out  of  individual  acts,  when  such 
acts  have  been  repeated  to  a  certain  extent* 
Habits  thus  formed  vary  exceedingly  in  their 
nature,  and  in  the  influence  which  they  exert 
over  the  moral  condition  ;  but  every  one  who 
has  paid  any  attention  to  this  most  solemn  in- 
quiry must  admit  that  their  influence  is  most 
extensive.  I  allude  not  here  to  habits  of  in- 
temperance, or  of  any  other  kind  of  vicious 
indulgence :  in  regard  to  these  there  can  be 
no  hesitation  in  pronouncing  on  their  ruinous 
power  ;  but  to  habits  which,  though  not  prop- 
erly to  be  considered  as  belonging  to  this  class, 
fnay  yet  be  exerting  a  destructive  influence  on 
the  proper  discharge  of  the  duties  of  life,  and 
on  the  culture  of  the  soul  for  the  life  which,  is 


THE    ARMOUR.  235 

to  come.  Thus  there  may  be  habits  of  indo- 
lence, which  interfere  alike  with  active  duties, 
and  with  habits  of  reflection  and  devotion. 
There  may  be  habits  of  luxurious  indulgence, 
which,  though  far  removed  from  intemperance, 
yet  indispose  or  incapacitate  for  calm  and  se- 
rious thought.  There  are  habits  of  irregular- 
ity and  mismanagement  of  time,  which  inter- 
fere at  once  with  duties  and  with  leisure  for 
reflection  ;  and  there  are  habits  of  bustling  ac- 
tivity and  engrossment  with  the  pursuits,  or, 
it  may  be,  the  frivolities  of  life,  which  enchain 
the  soul  as  the  willing  bondslave  of  the  things 
which  perish.  Habits  the  reverse  of  all  these 
will  be  carefully  cherished  by  every  one  who 
feels  as  he  ought  the  supreme  importance  of 
eternal  things.  Study,  then,  to  cultivate  habits 
of  activity  and  diligence,  especially  in  the  use 
of  those  means  which,  under  the  Divine  Spirit, 
serve  to  the  culture  of  the  moral  being — habits 
of  regularity  in  the  study  of  the  word  of  God 
— of  reflection  and  serious  thought  upon  its 
meaning  and  tendency — and  regular  habits  of 
devotion.  Cultivate  habits  of  regularity  and 
economy  of  time,  and  of  improving  fragments 
of  time  which  are  so  often  allowed  to  run  to 


236  THE    CONTEST    AND 

waste — habits  of  such  moderation  in  livinor  as 

o 

shall  strengthen  the  body  without  oppressing 
it — habits  of  method — of  doing  things  at  their 
proper  times,  and  of  having  for  each  portion 
of  time  its  appropriate  occupation. 

(2.)  Watch  more  especially  and  carefully 
over  the  habits  and  processes  of  the  mind.  It 
is  in  these  that  a  man  may  read  his  moral  con- 
dition ;  and,  whatever  be  his  character  in  the 
estimation  of  men,  it  is  in  these  that  his  position 
may  be  said  to  consist  as  a  moral  being.  And 
as  all  mental  habits  grow  out  of  individual 
acts  or  processes  of  the  mind,  fostered  and  en- 
couraged to  a  certain  extent,  we  learn  the  in- 
finite impprtance  of  watching  over  all  such 
mental  processes,  as  we  cannot  tell  what  de- 
gree of  indulgence  of  them  may  engender  a 
habit  which  shall  fix  itself  indelibly  on  the  con- 
stitution of  the  mind.  In  all  such  cases,  each 
separate  act  is  gone  into  with  less  effort  than 
the  one  which  preceded  it,  until,  step  by  step, 
the  habit  is  formed  which  is  perpetuated  with- 
out any  effort  at  all.  In  this  manner  a  man 
may  allow  his  mind  to  glide  gradually,  and 
almost  insensibly,  into  habits  of  listless  inac- 
tivity, in  which  it  is  engrossed  with  the  trifles 


THE    ARMOUR.  237 

of  the  passing  hour,  or  into  habits  of  morbid 
activity,  in  which  the  fancy  frames  for  itself 
visions  and  delusions  as  empty  as  dreams — it 
may  be  with  images  of  an  impure  and  degra- 
ding nature,  which  tend  to  vitiate  every  feeling 
and  principle  of  the  soul.  And  even  independ- 
ently of  any  such  actual  depravity  and  cor- 
ruption of  the  processes  of  the  mind,  the  men- 
tal habits  may  be  such  as  fix  it  under  the  pow- 
er of  the  things  of  time,  to  the  total  exclusion 
of  any  correct  impression  of  the  overwhelm- 
ing interest  of  the  things  which  are  eternal. 
Among  the  characters  of  those  of  whom  the 
apostle  says  that  they  are  the  enemies  of  the 
cross  of  Christ,  is,  that  they  "  mind  earthly 
things."  "  To  be  carnally  minded,"  says  the 
same  apostle,  "  is  death." 

The  means  of  correcting  all  such  destruc- 
tive habits  of  the  mind  are  to  be  found  in  the 
careful  culture  of  habits  which  have  an  oppo- 
site tendency.  And  as  the  bad  habits  grow 
out  of  individual  acts,  so  also  will  they  fall  be- 
fore individual  acts  and  processes  of  a  proper 
kind,  as  these  shall  gradually  grow  into  habits 
,which  are  worthy  of  the  high  destinies  of  an 
immortal  being.     The  subject  is  too  extensive 


238  THE    CONTEST    AND 

to  be  discussed  at  length,  but  there  are  a  few 
leading  points  which  it  may  be  desirable  to 
keep  in  view,  and  which,  under  a  dependance 
on  the  Divine  Spirit,  will  be  carefully  cultiva- 
ted by  every  one  who  feels  the  deep  impor- 
tance of  this  department  of  Christian  watch- 
fulness. 

(3.)  Cultivate  the  habit  of  realizing  the  pres- 
ence of  God,  and  of  committing  the  way  to 
him  in  every  process  of  the  mind  and  every 
act  of  life.  It  is  given  as  the  peculiar  charac- 
teristic of  the  saints  in  ancient  times,  that 
*' they  endured  as  seeing  him  who  is  invisible.'' 
And  what  would  be  the  effect  upon  the  whole 
character,  if  the  habitual  language  of  the  heart 
in  every  decision  of  life  were,  "  thou,  God, 
seest  me  ;"  if  its  habitual  tendency  were  to 
look  to  him  for  counsel,  for  direction,  for 
strength ;  if,  in  every  situation  of  doubt,  per- 
plexity, or  temptation,  the  man  were  promptly 
to  say  to  himself,  God  is  my  witness — what, 
in  the  circumstances  in  which  I  am  now  pla- 
ced, will  be  most  pleasing  to  him?  When 
such  has  become  the  established  habit  of  the 
lyiind,  this  is  to  "  walk  w  ith  God."  The  man 
who  ha5  made  the  high  attainment  may  look 


THE    ARMOUR.  239 

with  humble  confidence  for  a  communication 
of  Divine  aid  proportioned  to  every  want — 
for  direction  in  every  step  of  life,  and  for  grace 
adapted  to  the  higher  concern — the  discipHne 
of  the  soul  for  a  life  which  is  to  come.  In 
regard  to  the  things  of  earth,  he  is  raised  above 
the  corroding  anxieties  of  those  who,  while 
they  seek  the  world  as  their  portion,  are  yet 
passing  through  it  without  a  guide.  In  all 
that  can  happen  to  him  amid  the  transient  con- 
cerns of  this  life,  he  traces  the  hand  of  One 
who  cannot  err,  and  with  the  feelings  of  meek 
and  filial  reverence,  only  says,  *'  My  Father, 
who  art  in  heaven,  thy  w^ill  be  done." 

(4.)  As  an  important  mean  of  cultivating 
these  mental  habits,  be  diligent  to  have  the 
mind  well  stored  with  the  word  of  God — to 
make  it  the  subject  of  habitual  earnest  reflec- 
tion, and  to  bring  its  maxims  to  bear  upon 
every  transaction  of  life.  This  subject  has  al- 
ready ^been  referred  to.  As  a  mean  of  Chris- 
tian watchfulness,  nothing  can  be  more  effi- 
cient, and,  at  the  same  time,  more  accessible, 
than  a  simple  appeal  to  what  is  written.  This 
is  calculated  to  afford  occupation  of  the  deep- 
est interest  to  the  most  enlarfjjed  and  cultivated 


240  THE    CONTEST    AND 

mind  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  remarkable 
to  observe  how  the  inspired  writer  even  en- 
joins, as  an  improving  exercise  in  the  Christian 
life,  the  humblest  process  of  which  the  mind 
is  capable — the  simple  repetition  of  the  word 
of  God, "  speaking  to  yourselves  in  psalms,  and 
hymns,  and  spiritual  songs."  It  seems  not  un- 
reasonable to  believe  that  such  an  exercise 
might  be  one  of  the  intentions  of  the  poetical 
parts  of  Scripture.  It  is  adapted  to  minds  least 
cultivated  and  least  accustomed  to  reflection 
or  thought,  and  yet  it  is  an  occupation  from 
which  they  may  derive  spiritual  improvement ; 
**  the  entrance  of  thy  word  giveth  light ;  it  giv- 
eth  understanding  to  the  simple." 

(5.)  Cultivate  the  habit  of  looking  steadily 
within — of  inquiring  what  is  your  moral  con- 
dition in  the  sight  of  God — what  are  the  pro- 
pensities of  character  which  seem  most  to  re- 
tard your  spiritual  progress,  and  what  care  you 
are  bestowing  upon  deliverance  from  their 
power.  In  what  degree  are  you  using  the  ar- 
mour of  God  against  the  enemies  of  the  soul 
— ^with  what  serious  earnestness  are  you  watch- 
ing unto  prayer?  Study  earnestly  the  com- 
parative states  of  your  moral  condition — watch 


THE    ARMOUR.  241 

for  progress  of  character.  Are  you  becom- 
ing more  under  the  power  of  eternal  things, 
or  more  devoted  to,  and  engrossed  with,  the 
concerns  of  earth  ?  Is  your  mind  becoming 
more  under  the  impression  of  the  Divine  pres- 
ence, and  more  disposed  to  seek  after  inter- 
course with  God ;  or  does  it  more  readily  be- 
take itself  to  earthly  things,  or  to  visions  of  its 
own  formation  as  empty  as  dreams  ?  When- 
ever the  great  principle  has  been  established 
in  the  heart,  it  spreads  like  leaven — there  must 
be  progress ;  where  there  is  no  progress,  there 
is  no  life.  Watch,  therefore,  earnestly  for  pi'og- 
ress.  At  certain  seasons  of  reflection,  have 
you  perceived  propensities  of  character  which 
you  felt  were  endangering  the  highest  interests 
of  the  soul,  and  have  you  formed  resolutions 
against  them — have  you,  it  may  be,  prayed 
against  them  ?  and,  at  the  next  season  of  seri- 
ous thought,  have  you  been  compelled  to  ac- 
knowledge that  you  have  made  no  progress  in 
the  contest  ?  What  is  the  cause  ?  Is  it  not 
want  of  watchfulness  ?  Has  not  the  convic- 
tion been  forced  upon  you  that  you  have  vol- 
untarily given  way  to  those  propensities  against 
which  you  had  formed  some  feeble  resolutions, 
X 


242  THE    CONTEST    AND 

and  against  which  you  had  also  professed  tot 
pray  ?  But  you  feel  that  you  had  prayed  wkh- 
out  watching.  Such,  be  assured,  will  be  the 
discovery  ;  but  do  not  despair.  Return  to  the^ 
spiritual  contest— pray  more  earnestly  ani 
more  perseveringly,  and  watch  more  assidu- 
ously.  Look  more  frequently  and  more  search- 
ingly  within.  Be  earnest-^be  diligent;  the. 
concern  is  mighty,  the  salvation  of  the  soul; 
the  armour  is  infallible,  the  whole  armour  of 
God.  Use  it  with  diligence,  and  the  viotwjf i 
is  sure. 

(6.)  Cultivate  earnestly,  in  the  daily  walk^i 
of  life,  the  character  and  conduct  which  ac- 
cord with  the  high  morality  of  the  Gospel  of, 
Christ,  and  seek  after  a  growing  conformity^ 
to  his  example.  As  one  great  mean  of  thisii 
cultivate  the  habit  of  placing  yourself  in  th©- 
situation  of  others,  and  so,  with  tiender  inter- 
est, entering  into  their  wants,  th6ir  cares,  their : 
feelings,  and  their  sorrows.  "Blessed,"  says 
the  inspired  writer, "is  he  that  considereth  the 
poor" — that  enters  into  their  circumstances 
and  wants  with  feeling,  interest,  and  kind  con- 
sideration. This  is  the  mental  act;  the  necc»- 
s^ry  care  will  follow,  of  course.     But  it  is  not 


THE    ARMOUR.  243 

to  the  poor  alone  that  this  exercise  applies.  It 
is  required  in  every  relation  of  life,  and  is  the 
source  of  all  that  is  kind  and  friendly,  consid- 
erate and  tender-hearted  towards  all  men. 
Cultivate  diligently  the  habits  of  kindness, 
meekness,  forgiveness,  self-denial,  and  peace- 
making. Study  the  sublime  morality  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ,  and  especially  study  his  own 
example.  He  was  holy,  harmless,  undefiled, 
and  separate  from  sinners.  He  was  meek  and 
lowly  in  heart — he  went  about  doing  good. 
He  sought  not  his  own  things,  but  the  good  of 
others.  He  humbled  himself,  that  he  might 
achieve  the  great  work  of  redemption.  Let 
the  same  mind  be  in  you.  Let  every  selfish 
principle  be  mortified ;  let  each  day  find  you 
embracing  every  opportunity  of  doing  good, 
both  to  the  bodies  and  to  the  souls  of  men,  and 
eagerly  seeking  after  such  opportunities  as  that 
loved  and  chosen  path  in  which  you  delight  to 
follow  the  steps  of  the  Redeemer.  In  all  your 
intercourse  with  men,  cultivate  earnestly  that 
charity  which  "  suffereth  long  and  is  kind — 
which  envieth  not — vaunteth  not  itself— is  not 
puffed  up — doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly — . 
seeketh  not  her  own — is  not  easily  provoked 


244         THE    CONTEST    AND    THE    ARMOUR. 

— thinketh  no  evil — rejoieeth  not  in  iniquity, 
but  rejoieeth  in  the  truth — beareth  all  things — 
believeth  all  things — hopeth  all  things — endu- 
reth  all  things."  Such  was  the  man  Christ 
Jesus,  and  such  it  becomes  his  disciples  to  be. 
The  more  earnestly  they  aspire  after  conform- 
ity to  his  likeness,  the  more  will  they  feel 
their  deficiency  and  weakness,  and  their  daily 
need  of  that  Spirit  of  all  grace  whom  he  has 
promised ;  but  the  more  also  are  they  warrant- 
ed to  expect  this  aid,  and  the  more  may  they 
hope  to  experience  in  their  spiritual  history, 
that,  putting  on  the  whole  armour  of  God, 
"they  are  able  to  withstand  in  the  evil  day, 
and,  having  done  all,  to  stand." 


THE 


MESSIAH  AS  AN  EXAMPLE. 


THE 


MESSIAH  AS  AN  EXAMPLE. 


In  contemplating  that "  mystery  of  godliness, 
God  manifest  in  the  flesh,"  we  have  to  keep  in 
mind  that  the  Messiah,  in  assuming  our  nature, 
had  two  distinct  objects  to  accomplish,  both 
of  which  were  essential  to  his  great  work  as 
Mediator.  The  one  was  to  bear  the  weight 
of  Divine  justice,  in  the  character  of  an  atoning 
sacrifice  for  sin ;  the  other  was  to  yield  a  per- 
fect obedience  to  the  Divine  law,  in  the  room 
of  those  whom  he  came  to  save.  This  latter 
part  of  his  work  as  Mediator  required  that  he 
should  assume  our  nature,  bear  all  its  infirmi- 
ties, and  be  subjected  to  all  its  trials  and  tempt- 
ations, and  in  that  nature  triumph  over  them 
all.  He  thus  also  accomplished  a  double  pur- 
pose— he  fulfilled  this  important  part  of  his 
own  mediatorial  work,  and  he  left  us  an  exam- 
ple that  we  should  follow  his  steps,  both  in 
hi$  manner  of  meeting  temptation,  and  in  his 


248  THE    MESSIAH 

whole  character  and  conduct  in  life.  In  study- 
ing the  character  of  the  Messiah,  therefore,  as 
an  example,  it  becomes  us  to  consider  him  as 
he  is  presented  to  us  in  these  two  aspects,  both 
of  supreme  importance  to  us — as  suffering 
temptation  without  yielding  to  its  power,  and 
as  exhibiting,  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  the 
pure  and  perfect  condition  of  the  moral  nature 
of  man. 


PART  I. 

THE  MESSIAH  UNDER  TEMPTATION. 
Matthew,  iv.,  1-11. 

That  the  Messiah,  in  his  human  nature,  was 
subjected  to  temptation,  is  one  of  those  facts 
in  his  marvellous  history  which  we  must  re- 
ceive simply  as  it  is  revealed  to  us,  without  at- 
tempting to  exercise  our  own  speculations  re- 
specting either  the  means  or  the  agent  by  which 
it  v^as  effected.  The  mysterious  and  incom- 
prehensible character  of  it,  in  these  respects, 
does  not  in  any  degree  interfere  with  the  im- 
portant lessons  which  the  subject  is  calculated 


AS    AN    EXAMPLE.  249 

to  convey,  in  two  leading  considerations — the 
nature  of  these  temptations,  and  the  means  by 
which  they  were  combated. 

§  I.  THE  FIRST  TEMPTATION. 

"And  when  the  tempter  came  to  him,  he 
said.  If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  command 
that  these  stones  be  made  bread.  But  he  an^ 
swered  and  said.  It  is  written,  man  shall  not 
live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  that 
proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God." 

In  entering  upon  the  consideration  of  the 
first  temptation,  we  may  derive  some  Hght  by 
referring  to  the  connexion  of  the  passage  which 
our  Lord  employed  in  his  answer  to  the  tempt- 
er. In  the  eighth  chapter  of  Deuteronomy,  Mo- 
ses thus  addresses  the  Israelites,  in  the  prospect 
of  taking  possession  of  the  promised  land,  and 
in  the  review  of  all  the  way  by  which  God 
had  led  them  in  their  wanderings  through  the 
wilderness  :  "  All  the  commandments  which  I 
command  thee  this  day  shall  ye  observe  to  do, 
that  ye  may  live  and  multiply,  and  go  in  and 
possess  the  land  which  the  Lord  sware  unto 
your  fathers.  And  thou  shalt  remember  all 
the  way  by  which  the  Lord  thy  God  led  thee 


250  THE    MESSIAH 

these  forty  years  in  the  wilderness,  to  humble 
thee,  and  to  prove  thee,  to  know  what  was  m 
thine  heart,  whether  thou  wouldest  keep  his 
commandments  or  no.  And  he  humbled  thee, 
and  suffered  thee  to  hunger,  and  fed  thee  with 
manna  which  thou  knewest  not,  neither  did 
thy  fathers  know ;  that  he  might  make  thee 
know,  that  man  doth  not  live  by  bread  only, 
but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord  doth  man  live." 

From  a  remote  period,  God  had  promised 
rto  their  fathers  that  he  would  bring  the  Is- 
raelites into  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  establish 
them  there  as  a  great  people.  As  an  impor- 
tant step  towards  the  fulfilment  of  this  promise, 
he  had  delivered  them  out  of  Egypt  by  a  se- 
ries of  miraculous  dispensations,  which  marked, 
in  an  indisputable  manner,  the  immediate  oper- 
ation of  his  hand.  In  their  progress  through 
the  wilderness,  he  had  kept  them  in  circum- 
stances which  were  a  continual  trial  of  their 
faith  in  his  promise,  and  their  reliance  on  his 
unceasing  care.  They  were  made  to  feel, 
that,  for  the  supply  of  their  daily  food,  they 
could  not  provide  for  themselves  by  any  in- 
dustry of  their  own,  but  were  thrown  contin- 


A3    AN    EXAMPLE.  251 

ually  upon  God  for  a  supply  of  their  wants  ia 
a  miraculous  manner.  Thus  they  were  hum- 
bkd,  being  made  to  feel  their  weakness,  and 
their  inability  to  do  anything  for  themselves 
in  the  very  peculiar  circumstances  in  which 
they  wore  placed.  The  least  reflection  upon 
these  circumstances  ought  to  have  convinced 
them  that  they  were  instruments  in  the  hand  of 
God  in  carrying  forward  a  scheme  of  provi-. 
dence,  and  one  in  which  his  hand  was  display* 
ed  in  a  special  and  peculiar  manner — a  scheme 
involving  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  to  A  bra* 
ham,  that  in  his  seed  all  the  families  of  the? 
earth  should  be  blessed. 

Their  duty,  under  a  dispensation  so  very  pe* 
culiar,  was  not  to  murmur  at  the  circumstan- 
ces in  which  God  had  placed  them,  but  to  sub- 
mit themselves  with  humility,  reverence,  and 
faith  to  all  the  way  by  which  he  was  leading 
them,  considering  their  personal  gratifications 
as  of  secondary  importance,  when  viewed  in 
connexion  with  the  great  purposes  which  he 
was  carrying  on  by  means  of  them.  They> 
did  not  thus  submit  themselves  to  the  appoints 
ments  of  God  ;  they  rebelled  against  the  course 
by  which  he  was  leading  them,  demanding  per- 


252  THE    MESSIAH 

sonal  gratifications  which  he  had  not  thought 
proper  to  allow  them.  They  thus  subjected 
themselves  to  his  displeasure,  and  to  the  sen- 
tence which  he  sent  forth  against  them,  that 
those  who  had  so  rebelled  should  die  in  the 
wilderness.  In  this  manner  they  were  made 
to  feel  the  danger  of  preferring  their  personal 
desires  to  the  course  of  duty  which  God  had 
assigned  to  them  ;  and  there  was  strongly  im- 
pressed upon  them  the  important  truth,  that 
"  man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by 
every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth 
of  God." 

There  was  a  considerable  analogy  between 
the  case  of  the  Israelites,  now  referred  to,  and 
th^  circumstances  in  which  the  Messiah  was 
placed  at  the  commencement  of  his  life  of  obe- 
dience and  suffering.  He  had  entered  upon  a 
mighty  undertaking,  every  part  of  which  was 
essential  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  whole. 
After  his  youth  had  been  spent  in  comparative 
obscurity,  he  was  now  entering  upon  that 
course  of  life  in  which  his  work  as  Mediator 
was  more  peculiarly  to  consist.  An  impor- 
tant part  of  this  was,  that  he  should  be  subject- 
ed to  temptation,  and  triumph  over  it  in  all  its 


AS    AN    EXAMPLE.  253 

parts.  In  this  a  double  purpose  was  to  be  ac- 
complished. He  was  to  pass  through  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  work  assigned  to  him  in  his 
mediatorial  character,  and  he  was  to  leave 
his  people  a  bright  example  of  how  temptation 
was  to  be  combated.  In  this  part  of  his  trial 
he  Was  made  to  endure  hunger,  and  he  suffer- 
ed from  it  as  any  other  man  would  suffer. 
The  object  of  the  tempter  was  to  make  him 
rebel  against  this  part  of  the  course  which  his 
heavenly  Father  had  prescribed  for  him,  in 
prosecuting  that  mighty  dispensation  which  he 
had  undertaken  to  accomplish ;  and  the  tempt- 
ation was  to  call  in  his  own  power  as  God  to 
relieve  this  part  of  his  sufferings  as  man.  Had 
the  temptation  been  given  way  to,  this  would 
have  implied  a  want  of  confidence  in  God  re- 
garding the  course  which  had  been  assigned 
to  the  Messiah  to  go  through,  a  want  of  reli- 
ance on  the  aid  which  had  been  promised  hitici 
in  that  course,  and  specially  and  particularly, 
it  would  have  implied  a  shrinking  from  the 
great  work  which  he  had  undertaken,  when- 
ever he  began  to  experience  from  it  an  inter- 
ference with  his  personal  comfort.  Most  aptly, 
therefore,  does  he  employ,  in  repelling  the 
Y 


254  THE   MESSIAH 

temptation,  the  words  which  Moses  addressed 
to  the  Israelites,  implying  that  a  man's  duty  in 
•every  instance  is  to  mark  the  course  which 
God  has  assigned  to  him,  and  not  to  shrink 
from  it  on  account  of  any  considerations  of  a 
personal  nature ;  in  all  cases  to  take  for  his 
guide,  not  his  own  inclinations  as  to  personal 
comfort  or  personal  interest,  but  "  every  word 
that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God." 

Thus  was  the  temptation  skilfully  made, 
and  thus  was  it  promptly  repelled  by  an  imme- 
diate reference  to  the  word  of  God.  Though, 
in  one  sense,  the  subject  refers  only  to  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  the  Messiah  was  placed, 
it  is  fraught  with  most  important  instruction. 

I.  We  learn  how  temptation  ought,  in  all 
cases,  to  be  combated  by  an  immediate  appeal 
to  the  word  of  God,  "thus  it  is  written."  As 
this,  indeed,  is  the  only  method  by  which 
temptation  can  be  resisted  with  effect,  it  is  also 
that  alone  by  which  it  can  be  met  on  those 
high  principles  which  are  worthy  of  such  a 
contest.  We  may  suppose  a  man,  when  ex- 
posed to  a  particular  temptation,  considering 
how  the  yielding  to  it  would  be  likely  to  affect 


AS   AN   EXAMPLE.  255 

his  health,  his  interest,  or  his  character  in  the 
estimation  of  other  men ;  and  it  is  probable 
that  such  reasoning  may,  and  often  does,  pre- 
vail against  various  temptations.  But  this  is 
not  to  overcome  temptation — it  is  to  balance 
one  selfish  feeling  against  another.  Widely 
opposed  to  all  such  parleying  with  evil  is  the 
high  and  simple  rule  of  an  immediate  reference 
to  the  will  of  God.  And  as  this  is  the  only 
true  resource  of  the  soul  under  temptation,  it 
is  the  only  effectual  one ;  for,  whenever  we 
approach  such  a  subject  by  any  speculations 
of  our  own,  a  train  arises  in  the  mind,  which, 
before  we  are  aware  of  it,  may  have  turned 
the  inclination  in  favour  of  evil.  And  even 
though  the  actual  deed  should  be  prevented  by 
motives  of  any  such  description,  the  purity  of 
the  mind  has  been  injured,  and  the  next  tempt- 
ation may  find  it  in  a  condition  more  prepared 
to  be  assailed  and  conquered. 

It  was  thus  that  our  first  parents  fell.  On 
them,  also,  the  attack  was  made  in  an  insidious 
and  artful  manner.  It  was  a  temptation  to 
violate  a  positive  command  of  God,  on  the 
ground  of  important  benefits  to  be  derived 
from  the  violation ;  and  it  was  coupled  with 


256  THE   MESSIAH 

the  insinuation  of  a  doubt  of  the  truth  of  God 
as  to  the  penalty  which  he  had  declared  against 
the  transgression,  "ye  shall  not  surely  die." 
Had  this  insinuation  been  met,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  Messiah,  by  a  simple  and  decided  appeal 
to  the  command  of  God,  the  temptation  would 
have  been  at  an  end.  But,  on  the  suggestion 
of  important  benefits  to  be  derived  from  the 
transgression,  the  woman  allowed  her  mind  to 
entertain  the  subject ;  and  her  imagination 
went  out  upon  the  advantages  which  were 
promised.  The  attention  being  thus  fixed 
upon  these  alleged  advantages,  there  next  suc- 
ceeded desire  ;  and  then  was  decided  her 
moral  destiny,  for  the  balance  was  then  turn- 
ed in  favour  of  transgression.  She  saw  that 
the  tree  was  good,  and  that  it  was  to  he  desired 
to  make  one  wise.  In  this  desire  consisted 
her  fall ;  the  actual  transgression  was  its  nat- 
ural consequence.  And  thus  will  it  be  with 
every  one  who  meets  temptation  on  any  other 
principle  than  asking:  himself  what  is  the  will  of 
God.  If  he  takes  this  high  and  simple  course, 
he  will  find  in  th'e  word  of  God  a  guide  adapt- 
ed to  every  situation  in  which  he  can  be  pla- 
ced.    No  temptation  can  assail  him,  either 


AS   AN   EXAMPLE.  257 

from  spiritual  enemies  without  or  corrupt  af- 
fections within,  which  he  may  not  promptly 
meet  by  the  denunciation, "  thus  it  is  written.** 
Such  was  the  experience  of  the  Psalmist, "  Thy 
word  have  I  hid  in  my  heart,  that  I  might  not 
sin  against  thee." 

This  simple  and  effectual  rule  for  meeting 
temptation  is  adapted  to  every  class  of  induce- 
ments to  evil ;  and  it  tends  to  prevent  the 
moral  feelings  from  being  degraded  by  an  ap- 
peal to  motives  of  an  inferior  kind,  which  have 
been  already  referred  to.  Such  motives,  we 
have  seen,  may  in  many  instances  preserve 
from  temptation,  but  in  a  manner  which  can- 
not be  employed  without  leaving  a  stain  upon 
the  mind.  And  besides  this,  it  is  to  be  remem- 
bered that  there  is  a  class  of  transgressions 
which  such  motives  cannot  reach  in  any  de- 
gree— those  sins  which  elude  the  eye  of  man — 
those  iniquities  of  the  heart  which  are  open 
only  to  Him  who  seeth  in  secret.  These  can 
be  restrained  and  conquered  by  no  secondary 
motives.  He  who  would  contend  with  them 
must  have  recourse  to  a  direct  appeal  to  the 
will  of  God  ;  and  feeling  deeply  his  own  weak- 
ness in  the  mighty  contest,  he  will  soon  per- 


258  THE  MESSIAH 

ceive  the  necessity  of  throwing  himself  upon 
a  power  which  is  not  in  man,  but  a  power 
which  is  promised  to  every  one  that  asks  it, 
to  make  him  conqueror  over  all  his  spiritual 
enemies,  "  through  him  that  loved  us.'^ 

When  this  course  is  not  followed — when 
iniquity  in  the  heart  is  allowed  to  retain  its 
command  of  the  imagination,  it  next  fixes  it- 
self in  the  desires,  and  the  moral  purity  of  the 
mind  breaks  down  before  it.  And  it  is  here 
most  important  to  observe  how  the  powers  of 
judging  then  become  impaired  respecting  the 
moral  aspect  of  the  favoured  sin,  and  respect- 
ing the  sentence  which  God  has  pronounced 
against  it.  That  bold  denial  of  the  truth  of 
God  by  which  the  tempter  imposed  upon  our 
first  parents,  is  precisely  the  sophism  by  which 
men  deceive  themselves  to  their  eternal  de- 
struction. They  go  on  in  a  course  of  forget- 
fulness  of  God  and  of  his  law,  with  his  word 
in  their  hand,  and  a  voice  within  which  often 
warns  them  that  they  are  departing  from  the 
living  God.  They  do  not  hazard  the  bold  as- 
sertion that  the  course  they  are  pursuing  is 
according  to  his  will,  nor  does  it  meet  the  ap- 
probation of  their  own  conscience  when,  in 


AS   AN    EXAMPLE.  259 

certain  seasons  of  reflection,  they  listen  to  the 
warnings  of  that  monitor  within.  But  they 
still  speak  peace  to  themselves,  under  a  certain 
undefined  reliance  on  the  mercy  of  God,  which, 
when  fairly  analyzed,  amounts  to  nothing  less 
than  the  ancient  sophism, "  Ye  shall  not  surely 
die."  Neither  will  they  assert,  if  the  question 
is  distinctly  proposed  to  them,  that  God  is  a 
being  of  undistinguishing  mercy,  who  will  de- 
part from  all  the  laws  which  he  has  made; 
for  this,  they  perceive,  would  be  entirely  in- 
consistent with  the  character  of  a  moral  gov- 
ernor. But  still  there  is  with  them  an  accom- 
modating standard  of  mercy,  which  stretches 
out  before  them  so  as  always  to  include  them- 
selves; and,  respecting  their  own  condition, 
the  delusive  fallacy  still  writhes  itself  around 
their  moral  perceptions,  "  Ye  shall  not  surely 
die." 

II.  The  second  lesson  which  we  learn  from 
this  part  of  the  Messiah's  history  is,  that  in  all 
cases  we  must  be  ready  to  sacrifice  our  per- 
sonal desires,  feelings,  and  interests,  when  call- 
ed upon  to  do  so  by  our  duty  to  God,  and  a 
conscientious  performance  of  the  work  which 


260  THE   MESSIAH 

he  has  given  us  to  do.  Men  are  too  apt  to  im- 
agine that,  if  they  discharge  the  requirements 
of  justice,  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  offices 
of  benevolence,  towards  their  fellow-men,  they 
are  at  liberty  to  gratify,  with  little  restraint^ 
the  principles  of  self-love — to  promote  in  va- 
rious ways  their  own  ease,  interest,  and  grat- 
ification. But  the  example  of  the  Messiah 
places  before  them  a  higher  standard — the 
principle  of  pure  devotedness  to  God,  before 
which  every  selfish  principle  will  fall,  when- 
ever the  two  sources  of  action  come  to  be  in 
any  degree  opposed  to  each  other.  The  ex- 
alted tone  of  character  and  feeling  thus  arising 
will  lead  a  man  earnestly  to  inquire  how  he 
can  promote  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  high- 
est interests  of  man — what  are  the  talents 
which  have  been  committed  to  him,  and  for 
the  improvement  of  which  he  must  give  an 
account  of  his  stewardship — what  are  the  va- 
rious means  of  usefulness  by  which  he  can 
follow  the  footsteps  of  his  Divine  Master,  and 
manifest  towards  him  the  spirit  of  devotedness 
and  love — what  works  can  he  perform,  what 
sacrifices  can  he  make,  in  the  service  of  One 
who  has  redeemed  him  to  God  by  his  blood  ? 


AS    AN    EXAMPLE.  261 

III.  From  this  subject  we  learn  farther,  that 
the  part  of  our  constitution  which  is  sustained 
by  "  bread"  ought  to  hold  a  place  in  our  esti- 
mation very  subordinate  to  the  object  which 
claims  our  first  and  highest  regard — the  cul- 
ture of  the  moral  being  for  the  life  which  is 
to  come.  For  this  high  purpose,  God  has  pro- 
vided us  with  special  means  and  special  as- 
sistance calculated  to  promote  our  spiritual 
improvement,  and  our  growing  conformity  to 
his  own  image.  Whoever  feels  as  he  ought 
the  supreme  importance  of  these  concerns,  will 
have  forcibly  impressed  upon  him  the  truth  of 
the  declaration,  "that  man  shall  not  live  by 
bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceed- 
eth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God." 

IV.  At  this  part  of  the  subject,  we  may  re- 
mark, in  reference  to  temptation  in  general, 
that  there  are  principles  of  our  nature  to  which 
every  kind  of  temptation  is  more  particularly 
directed.  These  principles  are  parts  of  our 
mental  constitution,  and  intended  to  answer 
important  purposes  in  our  social  and  moral 
relations.  I  allude  to  such  principles  as  self- 
love,  love  of  approbation,  desire  of  distinction, 


262  THE   MESSIAH 

and  various  others  of  the  same  class,  which 
are  usually  considered  by  writers  in  moral 
science  as  primary  elements  of  human  nature. 
To  answer  their  proper  purposes  in  the  con- 
stitution of  man,  they  require  to  be  kept  under 
'  the  strict  control  of  conscience,  and  the  great 
principle  of  duty  to  God.  When  they  break 
from  under  these  restraints,  as  in  our  fallen 
state  they  are  so  apt  to  do,  they  degenerate 
into  those  which  are  so  familiar  to  us  as  the 
fallen  propensities  of  our  nature.  Self  love, 
which  is  intended  to  promote  our  preservation 
and  necessary  comfort,  then  degenerates  into 
selfishness,  or  low  selfish  indulgence ;  and  the 
other  principles  degenerate  in  the  same  man- 
ner, both  in  the  objects  to  which  they  are  de- 
voted, and  the  means  by  which  the  attainment 
of  them  is  sought  for.  According  to  these 
views,  we  may  remark,  that  the  first  tempta- 
tion of  the  Messiah  appears  to  have  been  di- 
rected to  self-love,  and  the  temptation  was  to 
gratify  it  in  a  manner  which  was  inconsistent 
with  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  then 
placed  in  his  state  of  humiliation.  In  the  same 
manner,  it  would  appear  that  the  second  tempt- 
ation was  directed  to  the  desire  of  distinction, 


A3    AN    EXAMPLE.  263 

and  the  temptation  was  to  gratify  this  by 
means  which  were  unwarrantable.  Next  to 
self-love,  this  may  be  considered  as  one  of  the 
most  powerful  principles  of  our  nature.  We 
see  it  carrying  before  it  every  other  feeling — 
giving  rise  to  the  most  unparalleled  exertions, 
and  then  overcoming  self-love  itself  Men 
will  run  into  any  danger,  encounter  any  dif- 
ficulty, submit  to  any  privation  and  suffering, 
and  even  expose  themselves  to  the  danger  of 
deoth,  for  the  sake  of  distinction,  and  the 
tempter  appears  to  have  expected  to  find  this 
propensity  as  strong  in  the  Messiah  as  he  knew 
it  to  be  in  other  men. 

In  regard  to  Self-love,  which  appears  to 
have  been  more  particularly  addressed  in  the 
first  temptation,  we  cannot  fail  to  perceive 
how  carefully  it  ought  to  be  watched  over, 
and  how  much  it  tends,  if  not  duly  regulated, 
to  interfere  with  the  high  principle  of  devo- 
ted ness  to  God.  It  is  opposed  to  every  self- 
denying  duty,  and  to  everything  in  which 
we  are  called  to  prefer  the  interests  of  others 
to  our  own,  or  to  sacrifice  our  own  ease  or 
interest  to  a  sense  of  our  duty  to  God  or  our 
duty  to  man.     It  is  often  opposed  to  a  full  and 


264  THE  MESSIAH 

perfect  exercise  of  the  benevolent  affections, 
which  ought  to  lead  us  to  place  ourselves  in 
the  situation  of  others,  and  to  seek  how  we 
may  promote  their  comfort  and  their  good. 
It  is  opposed  to  the  forgiveness  of  injuries, 
which  must  require  a  sacrifice  of  selfish  feel- 
ing ;  and  it  must  often  be  in  danger  of  inter- 
fering with  that  brotherly-kindness  and  charity 
which  hold  so  important  a  place  in  the  high 
morality  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Thus  the 
principle  of  self-love,  when  allowed  to  usurp 
an  undue  influence,  tends  to  everything  that  is 
unworthy  of  a  healthy  moral  condition.  The 
strict  regulation  of  it  holds  a  most  important 
place  in  the  sound  culture  of  the  moral  being, 
and  is  often  referred  to  in  Scripture  as  a  lead- 
ing object  of  attention  to  every  one  who  as- 
pires to  that  high  attainment  the  imitation  of 
the  example  of  Jesus.  On  various  occasions 
he  has  himself  delivered  the  brief  but  solemn 
declaration,  "  If  any  man  will  be  my  disciple, 
let  him  deny  himself." 

§  II.    SECOND    TEMPTATION, 

"  Then  the  devil  taketh  him  up  into  the  holy 
city,  and  setteth  him  on  a  pinnacle  of  the  tem- 


AS    AN    EXAMPLE.  265 

pie  ;  and  saith  unto  him,  If  thou  be  the  Son  of 
God,  cast  thyself  down,  for  it  is  written,  he 
shall  give  his  angels  charge  concerning  thee ; 
and  in  their  hands  they  shall  bear  thee  up, 
lest  at  any  time  thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a 
stone.  Jesus  said  unto  him,  it  is  written  again, 
Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God." 

The  second  temptation,  like  the  first,  was 
met  by  a  prompt  appeal  to  the  word  of  God. 
Let  us,  as  in  the  former  instance,  trace  the 
circumstances  to  which  the  expression,  quoted 
by  the  Messiah,  refers.  In  the  sixth  chapter 
of  Deuteronomy,  Moses  is  impressing  upon  the 
Israelites  the  conduct  which  it  was  their  duty 
to  observe  towards  God,  in  the  prospect  of 
entering  the  promised  land.  After  a  variety 
of  injunctions,  he  adds,  at  the  16th  verse,"  Ye 
shall  not  tempt  the  Lord  your  God,  as  ye 
tempted  him  in  Massah."  The  tempting  of 
God  in  Massah  is  related  in  Exodus,  xvii.,  1- 
7.  The  Israelites,  in  their  journey,  had  ar- 
rived at  Rephidim ;  they  found  there  no  water, 
and  they  began  to  suffer  from  thirst.  Their 
condition,  at  this  time,  was  altogether  most  pe- 
culiar. By  mighty  signs  and  wonders,  which 
had  struck  terror  into  the  whole  land  of  Egypt, 
Z 


266  THB  MESSIAH 

they  had  recently  been  delivered  from  the 
bondage  of  the  Egyptians.  In  a  miraculoua 
manner  the  sea  had  been  divided  before  them ; 
a  constant  and  standing  evidence  of  the  pres- 
ence of  God  had  been  placed  v^rithin  their  sight, 
in  the  pillar  of  cloud  by  day,  and  the  pillar  of 
fire  by  night,  which  accompanied  them  in  all 
their  journey  ;  and  their  food  was  provided  in 
a  miraculous  manner,  by  the  daily  descent  of 
the  precise  quantity  which  was  required  for 
their  support.  With  such  manifest  evidence 
continually  before  them  that  they  were  under 
the  special  and  peculiarguidanceof  God,  their 
duty  evidently  was,  when  they  met  with  a 
want  of  water,  to  stand  still  in  reverent  expec- 
tation that  God  would  also  supply  this  want, 
whenever  the  time  came  when  he  thought 
right  to  do  so.  Instead  of  this,  they  murmured 
against  Moses,  saying,  "  Wherefore  is  it  that 
thou  hast  brought  us  up  out  of  Egypt,  to  kill  us, 
and  our  children,  and  our  cattle  with  thirst  ?** 
The  want  was  soon  miraculously  supplied; 
but  it  is  added, "  Moses  called  the  name  of  the 
place  Massah  and  Meribah,  because  of  the 
chiding  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  because 
they  tempted  the  Lord,  saying,  Is  the  Lord 
among  us  or  not  ?" 


\  AS    AN    EXAMPLE.  267 

What  is  here  called  "  tempting  the  Lord,** 
appears,  therefore,  to  mean,  putting  to  the  trial 
his  patience  and  forbearance  by  their  want  of 
confidence  in  his  power  to  relieve  them,  after 
all  the  proofs  he  had  so  recently  given  thai 
he  was  among  them  in  a  special  and  most  pe- 
culiar manner,  and,  as  it  w^ere,  calling  in  ques- 
tion whether  he  was  really  among  them,  be- 
cause he  had  not  instantly  supplied  them  with 
water ;  or  perhaps  they  might  be  considered 
as  impatiently  calling  upon  him  for  this  proof 
of  his  being  really  among  them,  thus  setting 
aside  all  the  proofs  he  had  already  given  them, 
and  presumptuously  challenging  him  to  this 
additional  evidence.  It  seems  to  be  as  if  they 
had  said,  Let  him  do  this,  and  we  will  acknowl- 
edge his  power  to  perform  what  he  has  prom- 
ised; as  the  Jews  said  of  the  Saviour  on  an- 
other remarkable  occasion,  "  Let  him  now 
come  down  from  the  cross,  and  we  will  be- 
lieve him." 

At  the  time  when  the  temptations  of  the 

Messiah  took  place,  he  had  spent  about  thirty 

years  in  a  mean  and  low  condition,  scarcely 

known  except  as  a  carpenter's  son.     He  had 

ome  into  the  world  to  assume  the  high  char- 


268  THE    MESSIAH 

acter  of  the  Redeemer  of  Israel,  but  nothing 
had  occurred  during  this  long  period  to  point 
him  out  to  the  Jewish  nation  as  anything  more 
than  an  ordinary  man,  excepting  the  single 
event  of  his  baptism,  when  a  voice  from  heav- 
en proclaimed  him  as  the  beloved  Son  of  God. 
This,  hov^ever,  does  not  appear  to  have  at- 
tracted much  notice  among  the  people.  The 
nature  of  the  temptation,  therefore,  appears  to 
have  been  this  :  If  you  are  indeed  the  Son  of 
God,  and  the  promised  Messiah,  as  you  pro- 
fess to  be,  w^hy  do  you  not  make  yourself 
known  as  such  by  some  act  which  will  con- 
vince the  nation,  so  that  they  may  believe  in 
you.  Here  is  an  opportunity  for  doing  so: 
throw  yourself  from  this  pinnacle,  and  alight 
unharmed  amid  the  multitude  below  (in  the 
court  of  the  temple,  a  place  of  great  resort), 
and  they  will  immediately  do  homage  to  you 
as  the  Messiah.  Let  God  also  thus  give  tes- 
timony to  your  pretensions  by  preserving  you 
in  doing  so,  as  he  has  promised  to  preserve 
the  Messiah  in  all  circumstances,  that  he  may 
not  even  dash  his  foot  against  a  stone. 

The  answer  of  the  Saviour  seems  to  imply, 
In  the  prosecution  of  my  work  as  Mediator,  I 


AS   AN    EXAMPLE.  269 

am  pursuing  a  course  which  my  Father  has 
assigned  to  me.  When  his  time  comes,  means 
will  be  taken  for  giving  evidence  of  my  char- 
acter ;  till  then,  it  is  not  for  me  to  attempt  this 
purpose  by  a  rash  and  unwarranted  act  such 
as  you  propose.  I  am  indeed  promised  his 
special  protection  in  the  prosecution  of  this 
work,  but  I  am  not  authorized  to  throw  my- 
self unnecessarily  into  circumstances  of  danger, 
so  as  to  challenge  him  to  this  display  of  his 
promised  support ;  as  it  is  written,  "  Thou 
shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God." 

The  principles  thus  brought  before  us  in  the 
second  temptation  are  again  full  of  the  most 
important  instruction. 

I.  We  see,  as  in  the  former  instance,  the 
temptation  met  by  a  prompt  and  instant  appeal 
to  the  word  of  God.  There  is  no  entertaining 
of  the  subject — no  consideration  of  the  benefits 
promised.  The  answer  is  simply, "  It  is  writ- 
ten." In  the  same  manner,  we  may  often  be 
placed  in  circumstances  in  which  courses  of 
conduct  are  presented  to  us  that  seem  to  prom- 
ise important  benefits,  and  we  feel  in  doubt 
Z  2 


270  THE    MESSIAH 

whether  it  would  be  desirable  to  prosecute 
them  or  not.  Our  first  inquiry  in  all  such 
cases  ought  to  be,  What  is  most  in  accordance 
with  our  duty  to  God,  and  the  high  principle 
of  devotedness  to  him  ?  If  a  man,  in  all  cases 
of  doubt,  commences  with  this  inquiry,  and 
with  a  sincere  desire  to  be  guided  by  it,  he 
will  seldom  err  in  judgment  respecting  the 
course  which,  in  any  instance,  he  ought  to  pur- 
sue. 

II.  We  learn  the  regulation  atid  control  of 
a  principle  of  our  nature  of  most  extensive  in- 
fluence— the  desire  of  distinction  and  pre-emi- 
nence among  men.  To  a  certain  extent  this 
is  a  legitimate  source  of  action,  provided  it  be 
kept  under  strict  subjection  to  higher  princi- 
ples. It  is  blameable  when  it  becomes  itself 
the  leading  rule  of  conduct,  keeping  out  of 
view,  or  interfering  with,  the  great  principle 
of  devotedness  to  God.  To  learn  the  impor- 
tance of  a  due  regulation  of  this  principle,  in- 
deed, we  have  only  to  look  at  those  who  have 
given  up  their  minds  to  the  desire  of  distinction 
as  their  leading  object  in  life.  From  the  man 
who  grasps  at  being  master  of  the  world,  and 


AS    AN    EXAMPLE.  271 

carries  misery  and  desolation  before  him  in  his 
course  of  ruthless  ambition,  to  him  who  frets 
and  wearies  himself  for  eminence  in  a  humbler 
sphere,  the  principle  is  the  same.  It  is  a  rest- 
lessness of  their  nature,  which  leads  men  never 
to  be  satisfied  with  their  present  lot,  but  to 
labour  after  some  distinction  among  their  fel- 
lows— something  that  will  be  the  admiration 
or  the  envy  of  those  around  them.  For  this 
they  toil  and  labour — for  this  they  disquiet 
themselves,  neglecting  alike,  it  may  be,  present 
duties  and  present  comforts.  The  course  is 
attended  with  emulation,  jealousy,  and  envy, 
directed  against  those  who  cross  them  in  their 
path,  and  the  failure  produces  similar  passions 
against  those  fortunate  rivals  who  have  sup- 
planted them  in  the  world's  estimation.  Even 
the  attainment,  perhaps,  disappoints  their  hopes, 
and  they  find,  when  their  laborious  course  is 
over,  that  they  have  been  toiling  for  that  which 
cannot  satisfy.  To  all  such,  the  exhortation 
addressed  by  the  Messiah  is,  "  Take  my  yoke 
upon  you  and  learn  of  me,  for  I  am  meek  and 
lowly  in  heart,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  to  your 
souls."  Retire  from  a  course  which  presents 
nothing  but  tumult  and  disappointment;   be 


272  THE  MESSIAH 

satisfied  with  the  lot  which  Providence  has 
assigned  to  you  in  your  short  and  uncertain 
state  of  moral  discipline ;  rest  not  even  in  its 
comforts,  if  such  it  presents  to  you,  but  study 
with  anxious  care  its  high  and  varied  duties, 
and  its  solemn  responsibilities.  Seek,  above 
all  things,  an  acquaintance  with  God — peace 
with  him,  and  growing  devotedness  to  his  ser- 
vice. The  pursuit  will  bring  with  it  neither 
disquiet  nor  disappointment ;  it  will  carry  peace 
in  its  daily  course,  and  in  its  accomplishment 
life  eternal. 

III.  We  learn  from  this  subject  that  in  all 
cases  in  which  we  are  encouraged  to  look  for 
Divine  assistance,  we  are  to  do  so  in  a  diligent 
use  of  the  means  which  are  in  our  own  power, 
and  are  not,  in  reliance  on  that  aid,  presumptu- 
ously to  place  ourselves  in  the  way  of  danger: 
"  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God/' 
We  incur  the  guilt  against  which  this  exhor- 
tation is  addressed  when  we  tamper  with  sin- 
when  we  place  ourselves  in  circumstances  in 
which  we  are  exposed  to  temptation — when 
we  bring  ourselves  under  the  influence  of  so- 
ciety, conversation,  reading,  or  circumstances 


AS    AN    EXAMPLE.  273 

of  any  description  which  have  a  tendency  to 
corrupt  the  imagination  or  derange  the  moral 
feelings.  We  incur  it  when  we  allow  the 
thoughts  to  wander  upon  forbidden  ground,  or 
meet  temptation  on  any  other  principle  than  a 
prompt  and  simple  appeal  to  the  Word  of  God, 
accompanied  by  aspiration  after  Divine  aid. 
The  man  who  runs  heedlessly  into  temptation, 
either  by  external  circumstances,  or  by  the 
allowed  wanderings  of  his  own  imagination, 
and  then,  feeling  his  danger,  seeks  this  aid  from 
heaven,  has  no  reason  to  complain  if  the  aid 
be  denied,  for  his  whole  conduct  is  met  by  the 
denunciation,  "  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord 
thy  God." 

But  we  incur  the  guilt  involved  in  this  ex- 
pression not  only  by  voluntarily  placing  our- 
selves in  circumstances  of  danger,  but  also  by 
neglecting  the  diligent  use  of  those  means 
which  are  in  our  power  towards  the  culture 
of  the  moral  being.  In  this  high  achievement, 
indeed,  we  cannot  take  one  effectual  step  with- 
out an  influence  from  on  high,  which  alone  has 
power  to  purify  the  heart.  But  this  is  prom- 
ised to  us  in  the  use  of  certain  means,  and  in 
the  diligent  exercise  of  powers  which  we  pos- 


274  THE    BIESSIAH 

sess  as  rational  beings.  We  feel  that  we  have 
the  power,  however  we  may  want  the  inclina- 
tion, to  withdraw  our  thoughts  from  objects  of 
sense,  and  to  raise  them  to  God — to  contem- 
plate his  character  and  his  will — to  bring  our 
conduct  under  rigid  examination  on  the  prin- 
ciples of  his  law — to  ask  ourselves  seriously 
what  we  are  doing,  and  what  preparation  we 
are  making  for  the  life  which  is  to  come. 
This  we  can  do,  as  rational  beings,  if  we  will ; 
and  in  doing  so,  with  earnest  prayer  for  Divine 
aid,  we  are  encouraged  to  look  for  this  aid. ac- 
cording to  our  need.  But  the  man  who  pro- 
fesses to  seek  this  influence,  and  is  not  thus 
putting  himself  to  the  work  of  solemn  and  se- 
rious thought,  incurs  the  guilt  implied  in  the 
denunciation,  "  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord 
thy  God." 

§  III.    THIRD    TEMPTATION. 

"  Again,  the  devil  taketh  him  up  into  an  ex- 
ceeding high  mountain,  and  showeth  him  all 
the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  and  the  glory  of 
them  ;  and  saith  unto  him,  all  these  things  will 
I  give  thee  if  thou  wilt  fall  down  and  worship 
me.     Then  saith  Jesus  unto  him,  Get  thee 


AS    AN    EXAMPLE.  275 

hence,  Satan ;  for  it  is  written,  Thou  shalt  wor- 
ship the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only  shalt 
thou  serve." 

In  the  first  two  temptations  of  the  Messiah, 
the  object  of  the  tempter  seems  to  have  been, 
to  produce  in  him  a  line  of  conduct  inconsis- 
tent with  the  course  which  was  assigned  to 
him  in  his  mediatorial  character.  Self-love 
was  appealed  to  in  the  first,  as  opposed  to  the 
privations  he  was  suffering,  and  the  desire  of 
distinction  in  the  second,  as  opposed  to  the 
mean  and  low  condition  in  which  he  appeared 
in  the  world.  This  also  was  accompanied 
by  an  attempt  to  lead  him  to  a  presumptuous 
and  unwarranted  appeal  to  that  aid  from 
God  which  had  been  promised  to  attend  him 
through  his  whole  course  upon  earth.  In  the 
third  temptation  there  is  a  more  undisguised 
appeal  to  those  principles  of  human  nature 
which,  in  their  unregulated  state,  lead  men  to 
seek  after  the  wealth,  the  power,  the  pleasure, 
and  the  splendour  of  earthly  things  as  their 
chief  good.  How  many  are  there  to  whom 
these  seem  to  present  the  only  objects  thought 
worthy  of  being  sought  after ;  and  what  un- 
hallowed means  have  they  recourse  to  in  the 


276  THE  MESSIAH 

pursuit  of  them.  How  often,  in  this  course, 
do  they  seem  to  have  forgotten  entirely  the 
duty  and  allegiance  which  they  owe  to  God, 
and  appear  as  if  they  had  actually  surrendered 
themselves  avowedly  and  deliberately  to  the 
service  of  the  Prince  of  Darkness,  as  if  they 
had  fallen  down  and  worshipped  him.  To  be 
satisfied  of  this,  we  can  appeal  to  the  page  of 
history,  and  even  to  our  own  observation. 
We  can  there  follow  the  man  of  ambition 
through  the  course  of  crime  by  which  he  has 
risen  to  the  eminence  that  he  aspired  to — the 
man  of  pleasure  through  the  course  of  profli- 
gacy by  which  he  has  pursued  his  chosen  en- 
joyments— or  the  man  of  avarice  through  the 
means  by  which  he  has  accumulated  his  gold. 
All  such,  and  many  similar  observations,  serve 
to  show,  that  the  eager  pursuit  of  worldly 
things  is  inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of  pure 
and  simple  devotedness  to  the  Divine  will  ; 
and  that,  when  a  man  makes  up  his  mind  to 
'  seek  them  as  his  chief  good,  he  voluntarily 
places  himself  in  circumstances  which  must 
lead  to  the  sacrifice  of  an  habitual  recognition 
of  the  duty  and  homage  which  he  owes  to  God. 
This  appears  to  be  what  is  meant  by  the  tempt- 


AS    AN    EXAMPLE.  277 

er  when  he  says,  "  if  thou  wilt  fall  down  and 
worship  me."  It  is  a  figurative  mode  of  ex- 
pression, which  probably  implies  a  prostration 
of  mind  to  the  pursuit  of  earthly  enjoyments, 
and  a  state  of  moral  feeling  which  leaves  a  man 
ready  to  sacrifice  the  principles  of  devotedness 
to  God  whenever  these  come  in  the  way  of 
those  objects  to  which  he  has  devoted  himself. 
On  this  view,  then,  the  object  of  the  tempta- 
tion would  appear  to  be,  to  place  before  the 
human  nature  of  the  Messiah  the  allurements 
of  earthly  things — the  wealth,  the  power,  the 
distinction,  the  enjoyments,  to  be  found  in 
earthly  pursuits ;  and,  along  with  this,  the  in- 
sinuation that  they  were  to  be  obtained,  but 
not  without  some  sacrifice  of  devotedness  to 
God.  A  man  on  whom  such  a  temptation  took 
effect  would  fix  the  imagination  on  the  prom- 
ised good,  and  make  up  his  mind  to  the  venture ; 
that  is,  to  go  through  with  whatever  means 
might  be  found  necessary  for  carrying  his  pur- 
pose ;  and  this  prostration  of  mind  appears  to 
be  what  is  meant  by  falling  down  and  wor- 
shipping the  tempter.  But  the  answer  of  the 
Messiah  was  as  prompt  as  before,  and  was  now 
accompanied  with  an  expression  of  indigna- 
A  A 


278  THE    MESSIAH 

tion  at  the  baseness  of  the  insinuation :  "  Get 
thee  hence,  Satan  ;  for  it  is  written,  Thou  shalt 
worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only  shalt 
thou  serve."  Thus  was  the  temptation  met 
by  the  immaculate  mind  of  the  Messiah.  He 
entertains  not  the  subject  for  a  moment,  not 
even  to  point  out  the  worthlessness  of  the  ob- 
jects which  were  presented  to  him.  The  case 
does  not  admit  of  argument;  the  course  is 
distinct  and  clear ;  the  will  of  God  is  the  sim- 
ple and  absolute  rule  ;  whatever  is  not  in  ex- 
act consistency  with  this,  is  sin.  God  alone 
is  worthy  of  homage  ;  his  law  is  the  supreme 
and  only  guide,  from  which  there  is  no  appeal, 
and  which  admits  of  no  rival. 

The  practical  lesson  to  be  derived  from  this 
subject  is  addressed  more  particularly  to  those 
who  have  chosen  as  their  chief  good  the  wealth, 
the  honours,  and  the  pleasures  of  life,  and  are 
pursuing  them  with  little  consideration  of  the 
pursuits,  the  duties,  and  the  responsibilities 
which  are  pressed  upon  them  by  the  supreme 
authority  of  God.  In  the  principles  by  which 
their  conduct  is  guided,  there  is  no  recognition 
of  the  will,  and  no  impression  of  the  all-seeing 


AS    AN    EXAMPLE.  279 

eye  of  him  who  claims  their  sole  allegiance ; 
and  they  must  be  sensible  that  their  leading 
object  in  life  is  not  a  desire  to  be  conformed 
to  his  law.  Other  objects  occupy  their  desires 
than  the  approbation  of  him  who  seeth  their 
inmost  thoughts — other  pursuits  engage  their 
attention  than  the  anxiety  to  be  acceptable  in 
his  sight.  In  the  views  and  feelings  which 
regulate  their  plans  in  life,  there  is  no  ac- 
knowledgment of  him  who  has  a  right  to  their 
undivided  homage  ;  they  therefore  kneel  to  an- 
other power,  and  serve  another  master.  To 
all  such,  the  warning  comes  with  deep  and 
solemn  import, "  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord 
thy  God,  and  him  only  shalt  thou  serve  f  and 
this  is  addressed  with  equal  force,  whatever 
may  be  the  false  god  to  whose  service  they 
may  have  resigned  themselves. 

Have  you,  with  all  the  hardihood  of  the 
Prince  of  Darkness,  devoted  yourself  to  his 
service,  and  declared  an  open  rebellion  against 
him  who  rules  in  heaven  ?  Are  you,  in  a  course 
of  profanity  and  vice,  despising  his  law,  setting 
at  naught  his  authority,  and  pouring  contempt 
upon  his  name,  his  character,  and  his  service  ? 
With  true  allegiance  to  the  leader  whom  you 


280  THE   MESSIAfl 

obey,  are  you  not  only  yourself  following  this 
downward  course,  but  contributing  to  draw 
others  into  the  same  career  of  folly  and  of  sin? 
You  have  all  the  characters  of  a  faithful  and 
devoted  servant ;  but  remember  that  you  kneel 
to  a  power  and  serve  a  master  in  avowed 
rebellion  against  him  who  has  the  sovereign 
claim  to  your  sole  allegiance.  Your  reward, 
it  may  be,  is  in  "  the  kingdoms  of  this  world, 
and  the  glory  of  them ;"  but  have  you  calcu- 
lated the  fearful  venture  ?  Have  you  forgot- 
ten that  he  with  whom  you  contend  is  the  in- 
comprehensible One,  whose  power  is  commen- 
surate with  his  justice — and  both  are  unbound- 
ed— that  he  marks  every  step  in  your  path, 
and  every  hour  of  your  period  of  moral  dis- 
cipline, as  it  glides  unheeded  over  you  ?  And 
does  the  solemn  truth  never  meet  you  in  some 
moment  of  sober  thought,  that  a  day  is  fast 
approaching  when  his  character  will  shine 
forth  in  all  its  fearful  attributes,  and  his  arm 
awake  to  vengeance  ? 

But  perhaps  mammon  is  your  god.  With 
calm  and  uniform  purpose  you  have  devoted 
yourself  to  the  acquisition  of  wealth,  and  this 
pursuit,  it  may  be,  has  preserved  you  from  a 


AS    AN    EXAMPLE.  281 

course  of  headlong  folly  and  vice.  It  may 
have  been  the  source  of  conduct  that  is  fair 
and  honourable,  and  you  are  passing  through 
hfe  vi^ith  a  character  of  much  that  is  estimable, 
and  naught  that  is  greatly  offensive  in  the  eyes 
of  men.  But  do  you  v^rorship  the  Lord  your 
God,  and  him  only  do  you  serve?  Do  you 
live  under  the  habitual  sense  of  his  presence, 
and  the  habitual  recognition  of  his  supreme 
authority  ?  Is  his  will  your  diligent  study,  and 
the  uniform  rule  of  all  your  doings?  and  do 
you  take  no  step  in  life  v^ithout  proposing  to 
yourself  the  question,  Will  it  be  pleasing  to 
God  ?  If  your  mind  bears  witness  that  there 
is  no  such  acknowledgment  of  him  in  your 
habitual  principles  of  action— that  the  usual 
current  of  your  thoughts  and  desires  is  to  other 
objects  than  those  which  refer  to  God  and  to 
things  eternal — that  your  plans  and  schemes 
for  life  are  regulated  by  other  views,  and  de- 
cided by  other  motives,  then  you  must  perceive 
that  you  present  all  the  characters  of  one  who 
kneels  to  another  power  and  serves  another 
master. 

The  same  mode  of  reasoning,  it  is  evident, 
applies  to  all  those  courses  of  life  by  which 
A  A  2 


282  THE   MESSIAH 

men  devote  themselves  to  the  attainment  of 
temporal  objects — the  paths  of  ambition — the 
pursuit  of  fame — the  desire  of  distinction — and 
even  to  the  quiet,  unobtrusive  course  of  those 
M^ho  seek  only  their  own  ease,  gratification, 
and  enjoyment.  With  them,  day  after  day 
finds  its  simple  pleasures  or  its  more  exciting 
amusements,  and  life  passes  without  anything 
that  is  discreditable  according  to  the  maxims 
of  men.  But  the  solemn  question  recurs,  Is 
this  a  course  adapted  to  the  high  responsibili- 
ties of  a  state  of  moral  discipline  ?  Does  the 
individual  who  thus  glides  through  life  feel  the 
solemn  truth,  that  each  day,  as  it  passes  over 
him,  is  a  portion  gone  by  of  that  short  and  un- 
certain space  which  is  given  him  to  prepare 
for  an  eternal  being  ?  Does  he  feel  all  the 
dread  solemnity  of  a  life  that  is  to  come  ? 
does  he  recognise  the  reality  of  that  eye  which 
has  followed  him  through  every  step  of  his 
moral  history?  He  can  have  no  adequate 
feeling  of  these  momentous  truths  ;  living  only 
for  himself,  he  presents  all  the  characters  of 
one  who  is  passing  through  life  entirely  re- 
gardless of  the  solemn  warning,  "  Thou  shalt 
worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only  shalt 
thou  serve." 


AS   AN   EXAMPLE.  283 


PART  11. 

THE  MESSIAH  AS  AN  EXAMPLE   OF  CONDUCT 
IN  THE  VARIOUS  RELATIONS  OF  LIFE. 

While  the  human  nature  of  the  Messiah  af- 
fords a  bright  example  of  our  resources  under 
temptation,  it  is  no  less  valuable  as  a  pattern 
for  our  imitation  in  the  daily  intercourse  and 
various  relations  of  life.  On  this  wide  and  ex- 
tensive subject  we  can  here  touch  but  very 
briefly.  The  following  leading  considerations 
may  include  some  of  the  points,  which,  in  a 
practical  view,  are  most  deserving  of  our  at- 
tention, and  of  which  numerous  illustrations 
will  occur  to  every  one  who  reads  with  atten- 
tion the  life  of  the  Saviour. 

I.  In  the  whole  of  the  Messiah's  conduct 
upon  earth,  he  uniformly  referred  to  the  will 
of  his  heavenly  Father  as  the  rule  by  which 
he  was  habitually  influenced.  "  I  came  down 
from  heaven,  not  to  do  mine  own  will,  but  the 
will  of  him  that  sent  me" — "  my  meat  is  to  do 


284  THE  MESSIAH 

the  will  of  him  that  sent  me,  and  to  finish  his 
work."  In  the  prosecution  of  this  great  pur- 
pose, he  threw  aside  all  those  personal  and 
selfish  feelings  by  which  men  are  so  much  in- 
fliuenced.  He  appeared  in  a  mean  and  low 
condition,  and  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a 
servant.  He  sought  not  his  own  ease,  or  hon- 
our, or  comfort,  but  the  honour  of  God,  and 
the  highest  interests  of  man.  If  such,  through 
life.  Was  the  conduct  of  him  who  "  thought  it 
not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God,"  how  is  the 
example  binding  upon  those  whom  he  came  to 
save  ?  The  important  lesson  could  not  have 
been  more  powerfully  impressed  upon  us,  that, 
in  our  passage  through  this  scene  of  moral  dis- 
cipline, each  has  his  place  assigned  to  him  by 
the  Great  Disposer  of  all  things,  and  that  this 
place,  whether  higher  or  lower,  has  attached  to 
it  duties  and  responsibilities  for  which  we  must 
give  an  account  to  him  who  has  a  right  to  our 
absolute  homage.  In  all  these,  his  law  is  our 
unerring  guide,  and  he  has  enforced  its  re- 
quirements by  the  principle  of  conscience  with- 
in us,  which,  when  we  listen  to  its  warnings, 
never  fails  to  plead  for  God.  It  is  not  enough 
that  a  certain  feeling  of  this  responsibility  pre- 


AS    AN    EXAMPLE.  285 

serves  from  those  violations  of  his  law  which 
attract  the  notice  of  man.  The  example  of 
the  Messiah  points  to  a  standard  higher  and 
purer  far.  It  requires  us  to  have  habitually 
upon  our  minds  a  sense  of  the  presence  and 
perfections  of  God,  and  habitually  to  bring 
every  act,  every  pursuit,  and  every  desire  to 
the  test  of  his  will.  In  prosecution  of  this 
great  purpose,  it  calls  upon  us  to  deny  our- 
selves— not  by  monkish  austerities,  as  if  he 
could  be  pleased  by  voluntary  and  useless  suf- 
fering, but  to  deny  ourselves  every  selfish  de- 
sire and  every  personal  gratification,  when 
these  interfere  in  any  degree  with  our  duty  to 
him,  or  our  zealous  prosecution  of  the  work 
wrhich  he  has  given  us  to  do.  It  calls  us  to 
seek  out,  with  anxious  care,  the  various  duties 
and  the  various  means  of  usefulness  which 
arise  out  of  the  situation  in  which  God  has 
placed  us;  to  consider  the  talents  which  he 
has  given  us  to  be  improved  for  his  glory  and 
the  good  of  men ;  and  to  examine  ourselves 
rigidly  whether  we  are  improving  them  in  a 
manner  which  will  stand  the  test  of  that  dread 
morning  of  an  eternal  day.  In  all  these  con- 
cerns we  are  too  apt  to  look  to  our  own  ease, 


286  THE  MESSIAH 

interest,  and  pleasure.  The  example  of  the 
Messiah  impresses  upon  us  in  the  strongest 
manner  that  our  leading,  our  uniform  inquiry 
ought  in  every  instance  to  be.  What  is  the  will 
of  God  ?  what  is  the  course  of  conduct  which 
tends  most  to  promote  his  glory  ?  what  is  that 
culture  of  the  habits,  dispositions,  and  affec- 
tions  of  the  mind,  which  will  bear  the  scrutiny 
of  his  all-seeing  eye,  and  the  test  of  the  uner- 
ring standard  of  his  word  ?  what  is  the  culture 
of  the  whole  character  that  approaches  most 
nearly  to  the  example  which  the  Messiah  has 
left  us,  that  we  should  follow  his  steps  ? 

II.  The  means  adapted  for  our  assistance 
and  guidance  in  this  great  design  are  strikingly 
pointed  out  in  the  example  of  the  Messiah.  He 
maintained  habitual  intercourse  with  God  :  he 
sought  solitude  and  retirement,  that  he  might 
cultivate  this  converse  with  his  Father  in  heav- 
en. From  the  most  zealous  discharge  of  his 
public  ministry  he  retired  for  devotion ;  and, 
disregarding  even  the  personal  wants,  which, 
as  a  man,  we  know  he  felt  as  other  men,  he 
spent  whole  nights  in  prayer.  Even  in  his 
last  dread  agony,   when   his  human  nature 


AS    AN    EXAMPLE.  287 

seemed  ready  to  sink  under  the  prospect  of 
that  suffering  by  which  his  mighty  work  was 
to  be  accomplished,  he  still  sought  refuge  in 
"offering  up  prayers  and  supplications,  with 
strong  crying  and  tears,  unto  him  that  was  able 
to  save  h:m  from  death,  and  was  heard  in  that 
he  feared."  We  cannot  doubt  that  this  pur- 
pose might  have  been  fulfilled  by  his  own  Di- 
vine nature,  had  such  been  the  appointment  of 
God.  But,  if  we  may  dare  to  speculate  on 
such  a  subject,  we  may  say,  that  thus  a  high 
purpose  would  have  been  unaccomplished. 
He  was  acting  and  suffering  as  a  man,  and  as 
a  man  he  left  us  an  example  how  to  act  and 
how  to  suffer.  Let  us  feel  all  the  weight  of 
this  example,  and  learn  how  we  may  advance 
with  safety,  with  confidence,  and  with  peace, 
through  the  solemn  scene  which  is  carrying 
us  onward  to  an  eternal  state  of  being.  It  is 
by  cultivating  habitual  intercourse  with  God — 
by  seeking  to  feel  upon  our  minds  the  constant 
impression  of  his  presence — by  habitually  re- 
signing ourselves  to  his  guidance,  and  com- 
mitting ourselves  to  the  wisdom  and  the 
strength  which  he  alone  can  give,  both  for 
our  conduct  in  this  life,  and  our  preparation 
for  the  life  which  is  to  come* 


288  THE  MESSIAH 

III.  Let  us  contemplate  the  Messiah  as  he 
appeared  in  the  various  duties  and  relations  of  i 
ordinary  life.  As  a  son,  he  was  distinguished  ^ 
by  filial  reverence  ;  and  even  in  the  midst  of 
his  last  sufferings,  he  showed  a  tender  interest 
in  the  comfort  of  his  mother.  He  had  friendsj,  j 
and  he  warmly  felt  for  their  sorrows,  and  call-  \ 
ed  down  his  divine  power  for  their  relief.  He 
had  enemies,  and  he  treated  them  with  for- 
bearance, and  with  his  last  breath  he  prayed 
for  pardon  to  his  murderers.  Mark  the  ten- 
der kindness  of  his  heart,  as  he  shed  tears  over  ' 
the  grave  of  him  whom  he  loved ;  mark  his 
tender  compassion  for  sinners,  as  he  wept  over 
Jerusalem.  Who  are  the  characters  that  are 
specified  as  meeting  his  particular  regard? 
the  poor  in  spirit,  the  meek,  the  merciful,  the 
mourner,  the  pure  in  heart,  the  peace-maker, 
the  persecuted,  those  who  hunger  and  thirst 
after  righteousness.  Who  are  among  the  in- 
dividuals who  are  mentioned  as  engaging  his 
special  notice  ?  the  weeping  penitent,  the 
mourning  widow,  the  woman  who  likened  her- 
self to  a  dog  that  is  permitted  to  eat  the  crumbs 
which  fall  from  the  children's  table,  and  all 
who  showed  the  most  unbounded  confidence 
in  his  compassion  and  his  power. 


AS    AN   EXAMPLE.  289 

Whenever  he  came  into  contact  with  men 
in  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  life,  his  chief 
concern  was  to  relieve  their  bodily  sufferings 
and  minister  to  their  spiritual  instruction. 
When  he  was  faint  from  thirst,  and  asked  drink 
of  a  woman  of  Samaria,  and  when  she  ex- 
pressed her  astonishment  that  a  Jew  should 
ask  drink  of  a  Samaritan,  he  did  not  press  his 
personal  wants,  but  turned  the  conversation 
to  her  improvement.  His  divine  power  was 
never  exerted  for  his  own  relief,  but  very  often 
for  the  relief  of  others.  He  sought  opportu- 
nities for  administering  his  benevolence  and 
kindness  to  man — he  went  about  doing  good. 
He  complained  not  of  the  frequency  or  the  im- 
portunity of  their  claims  upon  his  compassion 
— he  complained  only  when  they  showed  any 
want  of  absolute  confidence  both  in  his  power 
and  his  mercy. 

In  his  character  as  a  teacher,  observe  the 
searching  spirituality  of  his  doctrine,  and  the 
uncompromising  faithfulness  with  which  he 
pressed  it  home  to  the  conscience,  without  re- 
spect of  persons  or  fear  of  man.  Observe  the 
frequency  and  earnestness  with  which  he  im- 
presses upon  his  followers  love  to  each  other, 

B   B 


290  THE  MESSIAH 

love  to  all  men,  forgiveness  and  kindness  even 
to  their  enemies.  His  common  conversation 
was  always 'directed  to  the  best  interests  ol 
those  who  were  brought  into  his  society ;  and 
he  took  advantage  of  every  circumstance, 
either  in  passing  events  or  natural  objects, 
from  which  he  could  deduce  lessons  of  instruc- 
tion. "All  bare  him  witness,  and  wondered 
at  the  gracious  words  that  proceeded  out  of 
his  mouth ;"  all  were  compelled  to  acknowl- 
edge, "  never  man  spake  like  this  man." 

In  his  whole  deportment  he  was  holy,  harm- 
less, undefiled,  and  separate  from  sinners ;  he 
sought  not  his  own  things,  but  the  good  of 
many  that  they  might  be  saved  ;  and  this  high 
design,  to  which  he  had  voluntarily  devoted 
himself,  he  followed  out  by  a  course  of  un- 
wearied benevolence  and  patient  suffering,  till 
in  his  last  and  greatest  agony  he  could  pro- 
claim with  triumph,  "  It  is  finished." 

Such  was  the  human  nature  of  the  Messiah 
— a  pattern  of  all  that  is  pure,  and  lovely,  and 
of  good  report — of  all  that  is  gentle,  and  meek, 
and  lowly — of  all  that  is  kind,  and  benevolent, 
and  merciful.  It  was  a  pattern  of  self-denial 
—of  forgiveness  of  injuries — of  patience  amid 


AS    AN    EXAMPLE.  291 

the  contradictions  of  sinners — of  active  useful- 
ness, both  to  the  temporal  wants  and  distresses 
of  men,  and  to  their  spiritual  necessities.  It 
was  an  example  of  all  those  kindly  feelings  of 
our  nature  which  are  calculated  to  bind  men 
together  in  tenderness,  condescension,  and  love. 
A  feeling  even  for  the  infirmities  of  his  disci- 
ples is  represented  as  a  part  of  his  character 
for  which  he  specially  qualified  himself  in  the 
course  of  his  mediatorial  work :  "  We  have 
not  a  High  Priest  which  cannot  be  touched 
with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  but  was  in 
all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  without 
sin."  His  tender  regard  for  the  feeble  ones 
of  his  people  is  represented  by  a  shepherd 
carrying  the  lambs  in  his  bosom.  He  invites 
the  weary  and  heavy-laden  to  come  to  him 
and  find  rest — to  take  his  yoke  upon  them, 
and  learn  of  him,  for  he  was  meek  and  lowly. 
Well  might  the  apostle,  pleading  with  the  Co- 
rinthians, entreat  them  "  by  the  meekness  and 
gentleness  of  Christ."  Even  the  mighty  work 
by  which  he  made  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin  is 
held  out  as  a  pattern  for  our  imitation,  in  that 
disposition  of  mind  which  led  him  to  humble 
himself  for  the  best  interests  of  man:  "Let 


292  THE  MESSIAH 

this  mind  be  in  you  which  was  also  in  Christ 
Jesus,  who,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought 
it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God,  but  made 
himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon  him 
the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the 
likeness  of  men ;  and  being  found  in  fashion 
as  a  man,  he  humbled  himself,  and  became  obe- 
dient unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross." 
Let  those  who  profess  to  bear  his  name  see 
that  they  follow  his  steps.  While  they  look 
to  him  continually  both  as  their  righteousness 
and  their  strength,  let  them  earnestly  watch 
over  their  own  progress  of  character,  in  a 
growing  conformity  to  the  example  of  Jesus. 
Habitually  studying  his  character  as  their  pat- 
tern, and  habitually  relying  upon  his  grace  as 
their  strength,  they  may  hope  to  grow  in  like- 
ness to  his  image,  and  in  preparation  for  the 
enjoyment  of  his  immediate  presence.  To 
those  who  look  earnestly  to  this  example, 
and  aspire  after  increasing  conformity  to  it  as 
more  than  any  earthly  good,  it  is  of  compara- 
tively little  moment  what  may  be  their  lot  in 
the  present  life.  They  have  learned  to  prize 
another  good,  and  to  seek  another  portion. 
Amid  much  weakness  and  many  imperfections, 


AS    AN    EXAMPLE.  293 

their  eye  is  steadily  fixed  upon  their  heavenly 
leader  and  guide,  and  they  look  forward  with 
humble  confidence  to  the  time  when  "they 
shall  be  like  him,  for  they  shall  see  him  as  he 
is." 

IV.  Finally,  let  us  contemplate  the  Messiah 
in  his  submission  to  the  will  of  his  heavenly 
Father.  We  have  seen  this  as  it  was  exem- 
plified in  active  service— it  was  no  less  re- 
markable in  patient  suffering.  The  pains,  dis- 
tresses, and  privations  of  life  we  know  he  suf- 
fered in  common  with  other  men,  but  these  he 
suffered  as  if  he  felt  them  not.  He  endured 
also  the  contradiction  of  sinners — he  was  de- 
spised and  rejected  of  men — a  man  of  sorrows, 
and  acquainted  with  grief  But  the  only  ef- 
fect which  these  sufferings  had  upon  his  pure 
humanity  was  to  make  him  weep  over  the 
blindness  and  hardness  of  heart  displayed  by 
his  persecutors,  and  pray  to  his  Father  to  for- 
give them.  One  trial,  indeed,  he  was  destined 
to  endure,  which  wrung  from  his  human  na- 
ture the  agonizing  cry,  "  My  Father,  if  it  be 
possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me."  But  the 
feeling  was  momentary,  and  the  remedy  was 
B  B  2 


294  THE    MESSIAH 

prompt  as  it  was  powerful :   "  Not  my  will, 
but  thine  be  done." 

Instead  of  rushing,  with  profane  speculation, 
upon  a  scene  which  puts  to  silence  the  utmost 
conceptions  of  man,  let  us  resign  our  minds 
to  the  high  and  important  lessons  which  are 
taught  us  by  the  suffering  humanity  of  the  Son 
of  God.  Are  we  also  called  to  suffer  ? — and 
in  our  passage  through  this  scene,  who  can  es- 
cape from  sorrow  ?— let  us  look  to  the  example 
of  Him  who  has  taught  us  how  to  suffer.  His 
trials  and  sorrows  were  as  a  substitute — ours 
are  the  immediate  fruits  of  sin ;  but  they  are 
designed  and  calculated  to  promote  our  sep- 
aration from  the  world,  and  to  minister  to  our 
spiritual  improvement.  Let  us  learn  to  ac- 
knowledge the  hand  of  that  wise,  and  gracious, 
and  powerful  One  from  whom  they  proceed, 
who  regulates  their  nature  and  their  degree 
by  the  great  purposes  which  he  designs  them 
to  accomplish.  The  cup  which  our  Father 
has  given  us,  shall  we  not  drink  it?  Bitter 
may  be  the  draught,  and  deep  the  repugnance 
with  which  it  is  contemplated  by  those  feelings 
of  our  nature  which  bind  us  down  to  present 
things,  but  it  comes  not  unsent ;  and  it  comes 


AS   AN   EXAMPLE.  295 

not  in  vain,  if  we  receive  it  as  dispensed  in 
love  and  in  wisdom,  and  be  chiefly  solicitous 
to  derive  from  it  the  important  benefits  which 
it  is  calculated  to  yield.  It  is  a  great  moral 
remedy,  under  which,  when  received  with 
proper  feelings,  we  may  specially  look  for 
gracious  communications  of  spiritual  aid  from 
Him  who  seeks  by  means  of  it  to  promote  the 
health  of  the  soul.  In  a  course  of  active  ser- 
vice, there  is  a  tone  and  an  excitement  by 
which  it  carries  with  it  its  own  stimulus,  and, 
in  a  great  measure,  its  own  reward.  But 
there  is  a  scene  which  he  who  was  once  hum- 
bled, and  is  now  exalted,  bends  over  with  ten- 
der interest,  and  views  with  intense  and  pe- 
culiar regard  ;  that  is,  when  the  meek  and  pa- 
tient sufferer,  realizing  the  mighty  One  who 
sends  the  dispensation,  and  receiving  it  as  sent 
in  love  and  in  mercy,  bows  under  a  sense  Oi 
the  rectitude  of  all  his  doings,  and  says,  in  the 
confidence  of  filial  submission,  "  Not  my  will, 
but  thine  be  done." 


THE   END. 


[-7T^ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CAIylFORNIA  IvIBRARY 


»  ^  ^^v  .   .  . 


